Dating In the Dark Times
by Lux's Sister
Summary: Whether you're a Jedi, grifter, thief, hacker, or mastermind, the times may be dark but love and romance manage to bring bits of light. The stories of couples, married or otherwise, and their romances. [Chapter Eight: The day has come. With the support of old friends and new ones, Rex and Steela tie the knot.]
1. The Thief's Tale

**DATING IN THE DARK TIMES**

 **CHAPTER ONE: THE THIEF'S TALE**

Steela blamed the whole thing on the mission to the moons of Rion.

If they hadn't taken that job, then everything would be fine. But no, Lux had heard one word about an Imperial governor embezzling taxpayer dollars and they _had_ to rob him blind. When they heard he was going to the moons of Rion, then all the better!

"Why don't we wait until he comes back from vacation and then strike when he's irritable from coming back to work and peeling from sunburn?" she asked at the meeting.

Her entire team gave her a look like she was the biggest buzzkill in the galaxy and Saw actually kicked her in the shin.

"Ow!"

"I'll set a course for the moons of Rion," Ahsoka said, and it was final.

Rubbing her shin, Steela poked her way back to her room to get ready for the con, completely ignoring the prattle coming from her roommates.

Katooni blasted past her, oblivious to Steela's bad mood.

"Moons of Rion!" she shrieked. "I read about them in my classes at the Temple. My instructors said they were beautiful."

"They are," Sierra confirmed, "Mom and Dad took us when I was little. The sun is always shining, and they have the planet developed for tourism. There are beaches everywhere you look."

"Whoop-de-do." Steela muttered.

"Steela, what's your problem?"

Steela's bad mood increased. "I hate beaches."

"Why?" Katooni asked innocently. "I love them. The sand is so warm and you can squish it between your toes, and you can look for seashells and build sandcastles and if you get too hot you can go in the water. When we went with Master Billaba, she even bought us ice cream."

Sierra's grifter instincts went off. "Katooni, how about you put on your swimsuit so I can put sunscreen on your back?" she offered, shutting the door to give them some privacy.

But oh, if only she knew. Steela didn't despise the beach because of the heat, or the sand, or the water, or the threat of cutting one's foot on a seashell.

Actually, she didn't know why she hated it. The one time her parents took her and Saw to a lake in the Onderonian jungle, Steela was miserable. She sat on the shore moping while Saw splashed in the water, happy as a clam.

 _"Steela, can you find me five nice shells for my sand castle?" her mother asked, trying to engage her in some form of beach-related activity._

 _Steela got up, grabbed the first five shells she found and handed them to her mother._

 _"Thank you. Do you want to build a castle too?"_

 _"No." she said, and sat back down on the sand._

Back in the here and now, Steela rummaged around in her drawer trying to find her old swimsuit. Her fingers snagged on the polyester and she yanked it out, hurling it onto her bed.

"Is that your swimsuit?" Sierra asked, staring at the piece of faded and misshapen fabric.

Steela glared at her. Right now, she needed someone to dislike and Sierra was a perfect target, what with her love of beaches and big smile and pretty candy-red bikini.

"Okay…" Sierra backed off and opted to tie her swimsuit strings behind her neck.

Steela skinned out of her clothes and stepped into the one-piece. She was about to stretch the straps over her shoulders when… _riiip._

She froze.

"Looks like your swimsuit's reached the end of its life." Sierra commented.

But at the moment, an idea formed in her head. "Yeah, that's unfortunate. Guess I can't go on the job now." She announced, tossing the ripped swimsuit in the waste receptacle and putting her clothes back on.

"Oh, it's not a problem." Sierra said. "You can borrow my extra suit."

 _"What?"_

Sierra rolled her eyes. "Steela, seriously. Grifters need to change swimsuits so we aren't remembered on beaches when we play multiple characters." She reached into her drawer and tossed a swimsuit to her.

Steela caught the two pieces and gave them a look.

"No."

Sierra shrugged. "Okay, find another one. If you can't, then that's your only option."

 _Darn Sierra and her two bikinis. Darn her all the way to the Outer Rim and back._

…

"You want a swimsuit?" Hero asked.

"Look, mine tore right down the…" Her gaze caught Hutch's. "In a place I can't fix and if you don't have one I can borrow then I've got to wear Sierra's spare."

"Why don't you get a replacement when we're on the surface?" Hero asked.

Steela considered that for a half second, but her practicality stopped her cold. There was no way she was going to spend her credits on a _swimsuit,_ for goodness' sake.

"Do you have one?" she begged.

Hero shook her head, her dark hair falling on her shoulders. "Sorry."

Steela closed her eyes.

…

The rebels' speeder pulled into the beach parking lot.

"All right, does everyone know what they're doing?" a swimtrunk-clad Lux asked. "Steela?"

Steela pulled her towel tighter around herself.

"It's not that bad," Ahsoka coaxed. "You look pretty."

"What isn't that bad?" Hutch asked, cocking his eyebrow.

"Don't ask." Steela grumbled.

Lux parked the speeder and opened the doors. "All right. Sierra, distract the lifeguard. Hutch, get into the mark's financials. Everyone else, surveillance."

Steela shuffled out of the speeder and toward the beach, keeping her distance from Sierra and Ahsoka (damn them).

"Whatever it is, it can't be that bad."

She glanced over her shoulder. Captain Rex locked step with her, his sandals flip-flopping on his feet.

"Don't tell me you're jumping with joy over this." She retorted.

Rex shrugged. "I like to swim. And we could all use a vacation, especially you."

"Me?"

"Sliding through those vents and doing all those lifts has to be exhausting."

"So does fighting the mark's goons." She adjusted her towel. "I know we need a break, I just didn't think Lux and Ahsoka would pick the beach. I hate it here."

Rex opened his mouth, undoubtedly to ask why she hated the beach so much when Steela felt the towel scrape across her skin, then disappear entirely.

She whirled around, her feet twisting in her sandals to prove what she already knew: Katooni was sprinting toward the beach, giggling devilishly with Steela's towel in her hands.

Leaving her standing in nothing but flip-flops and an itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny, island-water-blue bikini.

Dread pitting in her stomach, she turned back around toward Rex. The clone's face had turned tomato red.

"Here," he sputtered, thrusting his towel into her arms.

Steela wrapped it around herself. "Thanks." She said gratefully and wrapped up. "Let's get this job over with."

...

From her vantage point on Captain Rex's towel, Steela surveyed her teammates.

Ahsoka and Lux were at the edge of the surf, dipping one-year-old Tav's toes into the water.

Sierra lay sprawled on the sand, soaking up the sun.

Hutch sat on a towel, his comlink out to take the mark's money.

The mark was under a beach umbrella, completely unsuspecting.

Hero and Katooni (the little towel thief) were building a sand castle.

Mina and Tandin relaxed in deck chairs under a grove of palm trees.

In fact, aside from Hutch it looked like Steela was the only one working.

She rolled her eyes. Of _course_ they weren't working. They were all too distracted by the beach. Heck, they were distracted from the second they walked out of the speeder, apart from Rex.

Speaking of him, where _was_ Rex?

Steela shaded her eyes against the sun and scanned the beach. No Rex. She glanced toward the food stands. No Rex.

"Hey!"

Steela's ears perked. She followed the direction of the voice into the surf, where Saw and Rex stood up to their waists in deep blue water, a Frisbee in Saw's hand.

"Go long!" he yelled, tossing the Frisbee to Rex.

Rex dove for the Frisbee and caught it in one hand before his body hit the surface and slipped beneath the waves.

Steela watched, amused by the men's game. She was thankful Rex had given her his towel to cover up, but it was now covered in sand from her laying on it and it wouldn't be a pleasant experience for him to dry off with. Kind of a sad repayment for a gentlemanly gesture.

All thoughts about getting sand on the towel disappeared when Rex emerged from the water, dripping and shining in the sun like some sort of ocean god.

Steela had to check to make sure her jaw hadn't dropped.

It's not like she was looking; there was _no way_ she was looking. Rex hadn't gawked at her in the bikini; it wasn't polite to focus on the way his blond hair shone in the sun, the way the rivulets of water ran down his muscles…

Oh force, she was looking.

Steela quickly averted her eyes and decided to watch Hero and Katooni build a sand castle.

But for one nonsensical, fleeting moment, she thanked the universe that she had been born with eyeballs.

…

In the surf, Rex shook water from the Frisbee and tossed it to Saw, invigorated from his brief dunk in the water.

He heard the splash of his friend diving after the disc and wiped the water from his face. Splashing after the Frisbee was half the fun, but getting saltwater in your eyes hurt. He looked at the shoreline to check on the con's progress, if they were making any at all.

In all honesty, this was a job Hutch easily could have done on his computer on the ship. Rex suspected that the job was only a ruse to get everyone to come on a badly-needed day trip to the beach. They never would have gotten Steela off the boarding ramp otherwise.

 _Speak of the devil_. Rex looked around for her. Steela had been unhappy ever since Lux announced the job and it had only gotten worse when she had to wear Sierra's bikini, a far cry from her old conservative one-piece.

Now, for the record, he hadn't been staring. He knew a thing or two about respecting women, and Steela had been mortified when Katooni snatched her towel. Her body was covered in surgical scars from treatment after her fall, and she'd gotten a few others from fights or a particularly nasty tumble in the vents. In the instants between seeing her in the swimsuit for the first time and handing her the towel, he couldn't help but notice that she looked nice despite them.

Rex scanned the beach one more time until he spotted her, sitting on his towel and watching Hero and Katooni build a sand castle. He hadn't noticed before, but the swimsuit looked pretty on her. It was just the right color for her eyes.

He mentally slapped himself, hard.

 _What_ was he thinking? He and Steela had been the butt of too many marriage jokes, up to and including a gift of fake wedding rings for Life Day and a con where they pretended to be husband and wife, slapped a fake baby bump on Steela, and even named their phantom child when a lady started to ask too many questions. And through it all, they had remained strict "just friends."

Was Sierra working some kind of grifter trick on him? Impossible – she was asleep on her beach towel. Could Ahsoka be messing with his head using the Force? Also impossible, unless she had found a way to simultaneously do it and coo over Tav while Lux dipped the child's toes in the water.

 _It must be too much sun,_ Rex decided as Saw came up from the water and tossed the Frisbee.

 _It must be too much sun._

…

 _"Steela? Steela, come in."_

The sound of the comm startled Steela out of her stupor. "Huh? What it is?"

Lux's voice filtered through her earbud. _"Hutch has the mark's money. It's time to go."_

The sun was also going down, but Steela elected not to mention that. She shook the sand out of Rex's towel, rolled it up, and walked back toward the speeder.

Rex took the seat next to her, and she handed him the towel. "Thanks for letting me borrow it."

"Not a problem." Rex said and wrapped the towel around his shoulders. "I'm sure Katooni will be happy to wash it out for me when we get home."

Between Hutch and Hero, Katooni sank lower in her seat.

…

That night, a second body flopped onto Steela's bunk.

"So," Sierra whispered into her ear. "Did you enjoy your view of Mr. Clone Captain?"

Steela sighed. "Unlike you, I was actually doing surveillance."

"Yeah, surveillance of Captain Rex." Sierra teased. "Come on, Steela. You looked really pretty today; Rex would have to be blind not to notice – oof!"

The last sound came from Steela's blindly whacking the other girl.

"Just go to sleep," she grumbled and pulled her blanket over her head.

…

As luck would have it, the next morning Steela woke up before the others. Thank Force. At least the kitchen would be quiet while she ate her breakfast.

She walked into the galley to find Rex sitting at the table, drinking a glass of blue milk.

He swallowed. "Hello."

"Morning" Steela replied, opening the fridge and willing herself not to think of what happened yesterday, not to think of what happened yesterday…

On the other end of the room, Rex cleared his throat, all his courage balling in his stomach and forcing his lips to move.

 _You can do this. And the way you say it, it won't be awkward._

"Steela?"

Steela shut the fridge and gave her attention to Rex. "Yes?"

"I just checked the pantry. We're out of bread." He choked.

"Okay. Darn, I like toast."

"Do you want to go to Pancake World?"

Rex crossed his fingers under the table.

"Sure," Steela shrugged. "Do you want me to go wake up the others?"

"They won't be up for a while and we won't be gone long. Do you just want to pick up a loaf of bread for them on the way back?"

He watched with victory in his eyes as she nodded and tugged on the hem of the baggy T-shirt she'd worn to bed. "Sure. Just hang on while I get dressed and brush my teeth."

"No worries," Rex hurried. "I have to get ready too."

…

Steela yanked on a pair of shorts, snagged a pair of Sierra's shoes and grabbed Hero's favorite top off the top of the washing machine.

 _You're being ridiculous,_ she told her reflection in the mirror as she brushed her teeth. _You're only going to Pancake World with Rex because we're out of food and I guess he doesn't want to go to the store and then cook._

She rinsed her mouth and spit. _I mean, seriously. We're on the moons of Rion! If Rex wanted to take you out on a date there are no shortage of bars and beaches and other "romantic" places. Pancake World isn't one of them._

That didn't stop her from opening Hero's makeup bag and sharpening the eye pencil. It's not like Hero would mind.

Across the ship, Rex compulsively checked the amount in his wallet.

How did these things work? Was he supposed to pay for the whole thing? Was he supposed to split the check? What if Steela got something really expensive? No – he dismissed the idea – Steela wouldn't order anything too pricey. Should he wear a tie? No, people don't wear ties to Pancake World.

 _You're overthinking this._ He told himself, yanking his favorite shirt over his head. _You're going to Pancake World, not proposing marriage._

Marriage? Oh man, someone must have put love potion in his multivitamins or something.

"Hey Rex? Are you ready to go?"

Steela stood in the doorway, a soft gray shirt with blue trim falling around her shoulders.

Rex forced himself to nod. "Yes. Let's get there before we meet the breakfast rush."

…

Rex cursed the Kaminoans for neglecting to provide him and his brothers with any kind of practical civilian life training.

How were these "date" things supposed to work? If that's even what he and Steela were doing, walking to Pancake World at seven AM. His only point of reference was a plethora of sappy romance holos that Cupid made the whole barracks watch.

Well, he remembered one thing from all the dates on the holos that actually went well: the man was always supposed to drive. He and Steela were walking, so that was out the window. What else?

It hit him. As they neared the restaurant, Rex jogged ahead to open the door. "After you."

Steela nodded and walked through, maybe not seeing the small victory smile on Rex's face, and how it faded a little when she grabbed the second door and held it open.

"Thank you. Allow me to return the favor."

Rex graciously thanked her and walked up to the stand to ask the host for a table, ignoring the whispers from a nearby elderly couple that chivalry was dead. Hey, he already opened the first door for her. What was he supposed to do, elastic-stretch to the second before she got there? And anyway, Steela could open a door by herself. Heck, Rex had seen her open _vaults_ without so much breaking a sweat.

"Two, please." He said, burning with unexplained embarrassment.

"Of course. Right this way," the host replied and led them into the restaurant toward a table right by a window. Rex was about to sit down when he remembered another part of those holovids.

He quickly stepped behind Steela and pulled out her chair for her to sit.

Steela turned three different colors. "Thanks, Rex." She said awkwardly, and sat down for Rex to push her up to the table.

Across the restaurant, the elderly couple nodded approval.

…

"What do you think you're going to order?" Steela asked after they had been studying the menu for a while.

Rex scanned the page he was currently on. "I think I'm going to get pancakes."

"I was thinking of those too. Blueberry." She said and folded her menu. "They make the best pancakes here."

Rex wasn't surprised, considering the place was called Pancake World.

Steela leaned back in her seat and took a sip of her caf.

The elderly man on the other side of the restaurant cleared his throat.

 _Right, conversation!_ "I've never been here before. So, do you think Lux will take us back to the beach?"

"I hope not," Steela made a face, as if her caf tasted bad. "I like to be active."

"I do too," Rex agreed. "Maybe we can go fishing."

Steela perked up. "We could bring Saw too; he loves to fish. But speaking of Lux, did you leave a note or something to tell him where we are?

…

Meanwhile, on the rebels' spice freighter…

Sierra begrudgingly counted out a small stack of credits and placed them in Saw's palm. "I can't believe you won."

"What can I say?" Saw muses, putting the credits into his wallet. "I know my sister, and she's no night owl. Of course they would wait until the morning for their date."

Tandin, on the other hand, was completely wired. "Hutch, where are Steela and Captain Rex right now?"

"I'm sure they're all right, Tandin." Hutch said. "They're probably walking on the boardwalk or something."

But Tandin wasn't convinced. He knew what the moons of Rion were famous for, and if that thought so much as _crossed_ Captain Rex's mind, he was going to learn just how Tandin became a General of the Onderon Royal Militia.

"Find them." He growled, and Hutch's fingers flew even faster over the keyboard.

…

Captain Rex felt like the king of the universe.

He had spent the whole day yesterday playing Frisbee in the ocean. His job at the moment consisted of lying on a beach, and now he was taking the best thief in the Inner Rim on a date.

He forced himself to swallow a bite of pancake, sneaking a glance up to Steela as she poured maple syrup over her plate.

Unbeknownst to Rex, Steela was only using the syrup as a smoke screen so she could watch as Rex stuffed a short stack down his throat.

It was actually kind of cute, she thought. Aside from Saw, she'd never seen someone gulp down pancakes like Captain Rex was at the moment.

While she was pouring the syrup, Rex wasn't talking to her and she could just observe this quirk that she hadn't noticed before. Weird.

But for now, she poured the syrup as slowly as she could while trying to recall the location of every single Pancake World in the galaxy.

The server returned with the bill. Steela put the syrup bottle down and grabbed her purse, but before she could pull out her wallet Rex handed his credit card to the server.

"You didn't have to do that." She said, replacing her wallet.

"I wanted to."

Steela went back to her pancakes, internally smiling as she remembered what her mother had told her when she broached the subject of dating.

" _The dates that hold doors, pull out chairs, pick up the check, and still treat you like the strong woman you are – those are the men who are worth your time."_

…

"Well look who decided to come home!" Hero razzed as Rex and Steela walked back up the boarding ramp onto the ship.

"What's the big deal, Hero? We were just out grocery shopping." Steela protested, holding the loaf of bread up as evidence.

"Sure, sure." Hero winked at Rex. "Saw and Sierra had a betting pool going. He just got ten credits richer."

"So, where did you really go? The beach?" Ahsoka teased.

"The _grocery store,"_ Steela insisted.

Tandin huffed and sank deeper into the couch cushions. Steela decided that now wasn't a very good time to talk to him.

"Right, grocery store." Hutch said, rolling his eyes. "How were your pancakes?"

Rex froze. "H-how?"

Hero pointed at Steela. "Because that top is both gorgeous and mine."

But for the real reason, Hutch pointed to his computer screen, which contained two blinking red beacons labeled REX and STEELA, as well as some kind of official form.

"You should know by now that you can't hide from Cashier from Hell." Hutch smirked. "Seriously, a credit card? I could have found you in Wild Space."

"We were hungry." Steela defended herself. "We were hungry, and we're adults."

"True. You know what else adults can do? Get married." Ahsoka teased.

Rex turned red and placed the grocery bag on the counter. Why did this joke have to pervade his life everywhere he went? He and Steela didn't do anything serious; they just went out for breakfast.

He walked off toward his room, grumbling under his breath. It had started out as such a good day, and then Ahsoka had to tease him. At least he had the beach to look forward to for the rest of it.

"Rex?"

Rex pulled himself out of his pity party, and there she was. Standing inches away, so close their toes almost touched.

Steela leaned in and pressed her lips against Rex's.

For once in his life, Rex had no clue what to do.

He had never been kissed.

The only thought he could register was _Is that maple syrup?_

Two dizzying, maple-syrup-flavored seconds later, Steela pulled back with a huge smile on her face.

"Let's do it again sometime," she said, and sauntered off to her room.

Shocked, Rex touched his lips.

Did Steela just...?

Yes.

And from that day forward, the very sight of maple syrup was all it took to make Captain Rex very weak in the knees.

 **What is this? The ship that's a joke in the While Others universe is** _ **happening?**_

 **Surprise, everyone.**

 **And another surprise, today marks one year since I started writing for this site. It's been extremely productive, what with two oneshots, Black Sheep, and eight While Others stories! I'd like to thank everyone who has read, reviewed, and supported me throughout the year. And speaking of which...**

 **May the Fourth be with you all,**

 **Lux's Sister**


	2. The Hacker's Tale

**THE HACKER'S TALE**

"How's my favorite lady doing?" Hutch St. James asked, entering his bedroom and sitting down on the bed where his nine months pregnant wife Hero was trying to take a nap.

"I was trying to sleep," Hero grumbled and readjusted the ten pillows she'd packed around herself.

"Sorry. Here, I'll help." He tucked the pillows around Hero and covered her with the covers. "Did you have a nice day?"

"Not really," Hero glumly gestured to her belly.

Warning bells went off in Hutch's head. "Babe, what's wrong? Is the baby okay? Are _you_ okay?"

"This is horrible, Hutch!" Hero moaned. "This whole thing – it stinks! I gained force-knows-how-many pounds, I have to go to the 'fresher once every ten minutes, my back hurts, my feet hurt, this kid keeps kicking my organs, and I want weird food all the time."

She turned over so he could see the panic in her eyes. "Last night, I ate chocolate ice cream with hot sauce. _I was a culinary student._ I know not to mix chocolate ice cream and hot sauce!"

"That's not wrong," Hutch reassured. "It's just a part of being pregnant."

"Why did we do this?" Hero wailed. "There are tons of kids out there who need parents. Why didn't we just adopt another one?"

"Well, this one kind of just … happened." He answered. "But if you want, we can go for three when this one's a little bit older. I always wanted a big family."

"I did too, until now." She buried her face in the pillows. "I don't feel like Hero St. James anymore, Hutch. I don't feel like the Waitress from Hell. I feel like a big, fat, blimp."

Hutch's heart broke.

But before he could do anything, the door eased open and Katooni called "Mom?"

Hero sniffed. "Kat?"

"Are you okay? I sensed a disturbance in the Force."

Hero wiped her nose. "Yeah honey, I'm fine. Can you come here for a minute?"

Katooni crawled onto the bed, and Hero hugged her tight, their embrace a little impeded by Hero's belly. Hutch wrapped his arms around his girls, both of them. He struggled to reach all the way around to Katooni on the end acting as an eleventh pillow, and it wasn't just because of the pregnancy. Katooni had just celebrated her thirteenth birthday a few weeks ago, and she was getting big.

He lay awake even after the women finally nodded off, waiting for his broken heart to mend.

…

At an hour far earlier than anyone would dream of dragging themselves out of bed the next morning, every male member of the crew except for Tav congregated together in Saw and Rex's room.

"Why did Hutch call us here at this hour?" Lux grumbled, blinking sleep from his eyes.

"Like I know," Saw snapped. He was so lazy he didn't even bother getting out of bed. Captain Rex half-followed his lead by sitting on the edge of his bed in his pajamas, and Tandin sat in Rex's chair wishing he had a cup of caf.

Hutch elbowed the door open. "Guys, thanks so much for meeting me. It's an emergency."

The other men straightened at the word "emergency". Lux spoke up first. "Hutch, what's wrong?"

"It's Hero. She was really down last night, and she says she wishes we had adopted this baby too instead of having our own, and -."

"Are you telling me that you woke us up at four in the kriffin' morning because Hero's sad?" Saw roared.

Lux looked at his friend disapprovingly. "Saw, you don't get it."

"What don't I get?" Saw grumped and flopped back in bed.

"She says she doesn't feel like herself anymore." Hutch continued. "That doesn't make any sense. I mean, to me she's still that awesome girl who kicked Velvet Sparkles out of the house, and now that she's going to have a baby she's like," Hutch struggled to find words for his emotions. "She's like…"

"A goddess?" Asked Lux, who'd been there before.

"Yeah, a goddess!" Hutch agreed. "An awesome Onderonian warrior goddess who'll kill anybody who tries to go near her recipes. But she doesn't get it. She says she feels like a whale, and I don't understand. How can she think that?"

"Hutch, do you realize that Hero wakes up every morning and can't see her feet? And she hasn't worked a job since she began to show?"

Rex cleared his throat. "When Steela had to wear the fake belly, she was mortified that she couldn't tie her own shoelaces or get out of a speeder without me helping her."

"That's nothing new," Tandin interjected. "I took care of her every day during the Lazarus Project and sometimes she was embarrassed she couldn't take care of herself."

"It's different." Lux explained. "She knew she needed help after her injury, but now Hero, Ahsoka, and Steela are completely healthy."

"How do I fix it?" Hutch asked. He was quickly catching on that Lux was the best source of information.

"There's the problem. From what I've gathered, it's all hormones so you can't attack it straight-on. My best tactic was to surround Ahsoka with things she liked."

"Things she likes?" Hutch repeated. "Uh…yeah. Yeah, I can do that. Thanks for meeting me here, you guys!"

He rushed off, muttering Hero's name.

Saw rolled over in bed. "Now, was that worth waking me up for? I didn't think so."

Captain Rex beaned him with a pillow. "Stop whining like a shiny."

…

Meanwhile, Hero milled around the corner of the bedroom designated for the new baby. She ran her fingers over the green-and-yellow checked bedding in the crib, then she checked the bag filled with baby powder and already-stocked diapers.

Suddenly, she withdrew her hands. "What am I doing?" she asked the baby in her belly. "I have a million other things to do, and I'm going through your stuff? You aren't even here yet!"

She dropped a bib into the baby's drawer. "You don't even understand what I'm saying. Wow, I really am losing my mind."

Behind her, Hutch cleared his throat to get her attention. "Hey, babe."

"Hey," she said, shutting the drawers. "What's up?"

"Not much. I brought you your favorite kind of doughnuts."

"Really?" she grabbed the bag out of his hand and stuffed a doughnut into her mouth; Hero had a serious sweets craving. "Thanks!"

"So what are you going to do today?"

"I don't know. Clean, probably." Everywhere Hero looked, she saw a mess that needed to be cleaned up ASAP.

But for Hutch, it couldn't be better news. "Great! I checked the HoloNet, and this planet is having a culinary festival. We should go check it out."

Hero glanced furtively at the heaping pile of laundry in the corner.

"Come on, it'll be fun," he coaxed. "They'll probably have tons of desserts."

He had her at _desserts,_ but for Hero and her eagle eye for messes, walking out of the ship was like dragging a duracrete block through a bog.

…

A few minutes after Hutch and Hero left, Mina walked down the hallway and found Katooni scrubbing the floors.

"What are you doing? It's Saw's turn to clean the floors."

"My mom asked me to," Katooni explained. "She says that she keeps seeing dirt everywhere and since Dad really wanted to take her out, she wanted me to do the floor in this hallway."

Alarm bells rang in Mina's head. "Give your bucket to Saw and let him finish, Katooni."

As Katooni looked around for Saw, Mina ducked back into the bathroom and checked her supplies.

…

"Look, they're serving Toydarian noodles!"

Hutch smiled. At long last, his wife was getting her groove back. "Wanna go try some?"

"Of course!" Hero dragged him over to the stand and grabbed two sample containers, forking the delicious noodles into her mouth. "Oh man, these are good."

Hutch nodded assent and forced the food past his lips. So far, Hero had stopped at nearly every food stand and scarfed their samples. After the Nubian shaak bites, the Ryloth sautéed roots, and the Mon Calamari fish, Hutch was absolutely stuffed but he kept eating for Hero, who was like a bottomless pit.

"I hope Katooni scrubbed the floors." She worried. "They were so dirty, and the laundry and dishes need to be done, and I don't know if we have all our baby stuff in order."

"What's left? We have the crib, the clothes, the diapers, the blankets, and that contraption to strap the baby to our chest. I think we're good, and we have plenty of time."

Hero slurped her noodles. "No, we don't. My due date's in a week." Her eyes widened. "Holy Unifar, _my due date's in a week!"_

Hutch wrapped an arm around her waist, resting his palm over her belly. "I can't wait."

She snatched his noodle container out of his hand after she polished off her own. "Me neither. Maybe after that, I won't feel like I need to eat the universe."

…

A few hours later, Hero's fatigue had overcome her hunger and she and Hutch had returned to the ship.

"Hey, guys. Where's the food?" Ahsoka greeted.

Hero raised an eyebrow. "Food?"

"We're out. You two went to a culinary festival, right?" Katooni piped up.

Hero turned color. "We only tasted the food, we didn't buy any!"

"Hey, it's cool." Hutch swooped in before Hero could lose her recently-regained mojo. "I'll run back and get some of those Toydarian noodles. You stay here and rest."

"Thanks, babe." Hero said gratefully and sat down on the couch. After a few minutes, she asked "Ahsoka, where's the broom?"

Ahsoka perked up. "The broom? Why do you want the broom?"

"There's dirt on the floor." Hero said as if that explained everything. She got to her feet and tried her best to stretch.

"Saw and I did the floor in the hallway. Are you okay, Mom?" Katooni asked.

"Uh-huh. I'm just a little stiff and cramping, Kat." Hero said, when she felt something dribbling down her pants.

Katooni's face went absolutely white. "Mom…"

It suddenly dawned on Hero just what that liquid was.

"Oh my God," she gasped before she remembered that Katooni was watching her. "What's going on? This can't be happening! I'm not due for another week!"

But Ahsoka calmly walked up, slid a hand under Hero's belly to support the baby, and guided her to her room.

"Welcome to labor, Hero. An unexpected arrival is all part of the experience."

…

Mina knew what was going on when she saw Hero's obsessive cleaning, but she was a little surprised when Ahsoka led her in, saying that her water had already broken.

"Already?" Mina echoed, getting to work stripping Hero's bed and putting down plastic sheets.

"Yup," Ahsoka said. "Hero, sit down. I'm going to get one of Lux's old T-shirts for you to change into."

"How long has this been going on?" Mina asked as Hero struggled into the T-shirt.

"How long since my back started hurting? Um…around midnight last night."

Mina nearly facepalmed. "It's three o'clock in the afternoon!"

"I didn't think it was anything serious!" Hero cried.

Mina took a deep breath. "Hero, honey, you are pregnant. You need to report anything out of the ordinary to me."

"Okay, okay – _Ow!_ Mina!"

"Blow it out," Mina ordered. "Pretend there's a big candle in front of you, and blow out the flame."

Hero held her belly and exhaled while Mina checked how dilated she was.

"Katooni, is your father answering the comlink?"

Katooni shook her head, very freaked out. "He must be driving. He doesn't talk on the comlink while he's driving."

"Try again," Ahsoka ordered, coming back in with the T-shirt. "He needs to get back here as soon as possible."

That was about the time that Hero realized that a tiny human was going to be _emerging from her body._

"I want drugs!" she bleated.

"We don't have drugs," Mina explained. "They're not in the first aid kit."

"Get some then!" Hero cried, her pain-and-panic-wracked brain forgetting who she was talking to. "I need the drugs!"

…

In the hallway, Ahsoka pulled Mina aside.

"There's morphine in the kit. Why are you telling Hero we don't have any?"

"Simple," Mina explained. "It's too late. She's having this baby right now."

…

Hutch sauntered up the boarding ramp, holding a bag filled with the Toydarian noodles that Hero liked. His wife had good taste, and he was pretty sure the rest of the ship would love them.

"I brought dinner!" he announced, sauntering into the ship to find everyone in the crew except for Mina, Katooni, and Hero sitting in the common room staring at him.

Saw's jaw dropped. "Dude…"

"What? Is something wrong?"

Everyone stared at him in silence, until Steela broke it.

"You are in so much trouble."

Now Hutch didn't know exactly what she meant, but his paternal instincts went off and he dashed off toward his and Hero's room.

He shoved the door open. "Guys! What's going -."

Hutch froze. Because there was Hero, lying on the bed with a little bundle on her chest.

"W-what is that?" Hutch asked, pointing at the bundle.

"Well," Hero said evenly. "It looks like a baby."

"How?"

"Didn't you check your comlink?" she asked annoyed.

Hutch dug it out of his pocket and checked. Sure enough, he had 15 missed calls from nearly everyone on the ship, principally Katooni.

"Holy Unifar."

"Yup," Hero announced, snuggling the baby to her chest. "You wanna see her now?"

Hutch perked up. "Her?"

Hero nodded. "Her name is Molly."

"I helped her pick it." Katooni crowed, sitting on the bed next to her mother. "Come and meet her, Dad. She's really cute."

Hero turned Molly. "She's got your eyes."

That moment went down in history as one of the few times Hutch St. James' heart melted. He walked up to Hero's side and pulled down the hood of the blanket to peer into the face of his second child.

The baby stared back at him with big, brown eyes. His eyes.

But that wasn't what made him smile. What made him smile was the big nose on little Molly's face, an exact copy of Hero's.

"Impressed, babe?"

As an answer Hutch hugged his girls, all three of them.

 **A/N: And there it is. "Dating in the Dark Times," Mother's Day edition! Who was glad to watch the awesome Hero St. James get her groove back and Molly to appear?**

 **Thank you to starwarshobbitfics, McAwesome, MusicKeeper, Johnt12345, and Rose Ravenclaw for your reviews. And speaking of which, please review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Lux's Sister**


	3. The Grifter's Tale

**THE GRIFTER'S TALE**

 _Ding-dong_

Sierra jumped from the women's shared vanity. "I've got it!" she yelled and ran down the corridor toward the boarding ramp.

Lux and Ahsoka Bonteri looked at each other.

"She hates answering the door." He pointed out.

"I can only think of one person I would jump like that for." She commented.

Ahsoka watched as her husband's eyes grew to the size of Coruscant.

"I'll get the door," Lux growled.

"I'll stop her." Ahsoka said sweetly and set off after Sierra.

As she walked down the hallway, she found that her job had already been done. Mina and Steela stood in the corridor, effectively blocking Sierra from getting to the boarding ramp.

"You look nice," Ahsoka commented.

Sierra stiffened a little, clearly annoyed at not being able to answer the door. "Thanks, Ahsoka. Can I get through, please?"

Mina leaned forward to inspect her daughter's face. "Your makeup is smudged, honey. Let's go back to your room to fix it."

She looked up to Ahsoka and Steela, and nodded.

Sierra noticed. "Guys, seriously!"

But it was too late. Ahsoka grabbed one arm and Steela the other, and together they strong-armed Sierra to her room despite the grifter's protests.

"Ahsoka, Steela, let me go!" She bleated, dragging her feet against the floor to no avail. "I'm not a mark!"

"We know you're not." Mina said, looking at the boarding ramp with a calculating eye. "We're just fixing your makeup."

Meanwhile, Lux strutted up to the boarding ramp, shoulders back and his chest inflated as much as he could manage. He opened the ramp and stood at its head, game face on as the visitor emerged.

Tall. Blonde. Sheepish grin. Flight suit.

"Is Sierra here?" he asked.

Lux's big brother instincts activated. Because it was a _boy._ A boy who was asking for his _sister._

"She's still getting ready." Lux said, wearing his best menacing expression. "I'm her older brother, Lux. Please come in."

…

The boy's name was Jeremy. He was a pilot in the rebellion.

That was what Lux managed to get from Jeremy as he sat across from the young man with Saw, Rex, Tandin, and Hutch by his side.

"So Jeremy," Lux asked, his voice six times deeper than normal. "How did you meet my sister?"

"We met at the mess hall on base," Jeremy replied. "A few friends introduced us."

 _Fair enough,_ Lux conceded. _Sierra split off from the group when we checked in to the Alliance's base._

"Where are you two going?" Saw asked.

Jeremy swallowed. "There's a restaurant in town that one of my friends recommended. And then a movie theater."

Captain Rex pulled a DC-17 from his holster and nonchalantly looked over the barrel. Jeremy noticed.

"Right. Which movie?" he asked.

"Uhm, Sierra picked it out. She said it was good." Jeremy added, almost as an afterthought.

…

"Hmm, should we use red, pink, or clear for your lips?" Ahsoka asked, holding out three lip glosses.

Sierra almost rolled her eyes, but her mother was busy reapplying mascara to them.

"Sierra, hold still." Mina ordered. "I don't want to accidentally get this in your eye."

"Mom, it's fine. You don't have to do this." She protested.

"Nonsense," Mina finished the mascara on her daughter's left eye and moved on to the right. "The lighting must have been off when you did it the first time."

"We couldn't send you out looking like that," Hero assured.

"We're doing it in the same place," Sierra pointed out. "And Hero, you haven't had any trouble with how it looks for the cons."

The older women realized that Sierra was catching on to their true purposes, quick.

Hero ducked behind Sierra, grabbed her hair and started to French braid.

"So, who's your friend?" Mina asked, relieved from her duties and able to probe.

"Jeremy, from the base." Sierra said. "He's a pilot."

Mina's Mom senses started tingling at the same time Sierra's "Mom-is-probing" alarm activated.

"Where are you going tonight?"

Mina's motives for asking were simple: she knew the men were asking the same question in the other room. All they would have to do is see if Sierra's and Jeremy's answers matched in order to derive the truth.

But Sierra's reply was a perfect fit. "We're going out to dinner and maybe a movie."

"Dinner and a movie date?" Steela asked.

"It's not a date. We're just going out as friends."

Hero knelt behind Sierra and met her eyes in the mirror.

"Sierra," she said. "I want you to take your and Jeremy's faces off this situation and replace them with _Rex and Steela._ Now, if Steela said 'We're going out to dinner and a movie as friends', what would you say?" She didn't wait for a response before pitching her voice into a mimicry of Sierra's and announcing "You'd say 'No way you two are just friends!'"

"Hero!"

Mina had to hand it to Hero. She may be Sierra's mom, but Hero, with her lack of verbal filter, really knew how to push everyone's proverbial buttons.

"All right, don't torture her." Mina called the situation back under control. "Sierra, you look lovely. Hero will finish with your hair while I go talk to the men."

…

In the other room, Lux had switched from interrogation to intimidation.

"Let's get one thing straight." He growled. "I love my sister very, _very_ much. You can ask anyone in this room, and they'll give you the same answer I just did."

Jeremy straightened up. "Mr. Bonteri, I swear I would never do anything to hurt Sierra. She's my friend."

Rex pulled back the slide on his pistol. "We're not insinuating anything, we're just laying everything out."

See, Jeremy was not a fool. He knew what was going on here; these were the actions of the overprotective big brother.

Lux was starting to catch on that Jeremy wasn't a complete numbskull and changed tactics yet again.

"If you're going to dinner and a movie, you shouldn't have any trouble bringing her back by nine." He growled.

Jeremy nodded. "Of course. I have to get up early tomorrow anyway."

…

"Have fun!" Mina yelled after Sierra and Jeremy as they climbed into the speeder and drove off.

Beside her, Tandin _humphed._

"What's the verdict?" he asked.

"He seems like a nice boy." Mina said cautiously.

Tandin nodded. "His background check is clear."

Mina raised an eyebrow. "Background check?"

"I didn't run it, per se." Tandin defended himself. "Hutch ran it, and I simply reviewed the records. The Alliance is very particular about its recruits, especially fighter pilots."

That was good news. Mina was the first to admit that Sierra was turning into a pretty young woman, much like she herself had, and in her opinion if Sierra was old enough to grift Imperial moffs then she was old enough to date. That still didn't allay her nervousness at watching the teenagers drive away.

"She can handle herself," Tandin reminded, a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Mina sighed. "That's not what I'm worried about."

Just then, a racket came from inside the ship, followed by the entire crew minus Hutch pouring down the boarding ramp.

Ahsoka was the only one who stopped for even a second, and that was only to spit out "Hi-Tandin-can-you-babysit-Tav-for-a-while-thank-you-you're-the-best!" all in one breath and deposit her child into Tandin's shocked arms.

"Where are you going?" Mina asked even though she knew the answer.

"Somebody's got to watch that punk, and we couldn't agree on who it would be." Lux replied. "Hutch is staying here to watch Molly and do what he does best, and the rest of us are out spying."

"Give your sister space." Mina ordered. "She deserves a nice evening out."

…

" _Gerrera to Bonteri, come in!"_

"What is it, Saw?" Lux asked, seated on a bench across the street from the movie theater.

" _We have a serious problem, Bonteri. Jeremy just drove straight past the movie theater!"_

A fire ignited in Lux's gut. _I knew there was something fishy about that Jeremy, I just knew it! What does he think he's getting away with?_

"Follow them!" he ordered. "What direction are they going?"

" _East."_

"Hutch, are there any parks or scenic overlooks in a ten-mile radius east of here?"

There was a pause, and then Hutch said _"One, but it's a kids' playground. I don't think they'll be heading there."_

" _Check for clubs and places Sierra would like,"_ Ahsoka suggested. _"High end part of town. Malls, live theaters -."_

" _How about an art museum? An art museum which is hosting an exhibit on love and romance, and just so happens to be closed right now?"_

When he said it, Lux knew. Locked doors hadn't stopped Sierra in the past.

"Hutch, give me the address."

…

"You know," Jeremy said as he and Sierra drove past the movie theater. "I've heard a lot of first date ideas, but art theft is a novel one."

"You're going to love it." Sierra assured. "It's a scream. All those paintings, ours for the taking!"

Nonetheless, Jeremy was nervous. "I've never actually _stolen_ something, Sierra."

"Well," she smiled. "I'm honored to be your first partner in crime. Park in the staff lot, in the shadows. Once we park, I'll get to covering the speeder's ID tags."

Jeremy parked per her directions and Sierra stepped out of the vehicle, two pieces of flimsi and a roll of tape in hand.

She tapped on the speeder's window. "Are you ready to go? The shift change will be over soon."

For a second, Jeremy wondered just how in the nine Corellian hells Sierra had talked him into committing a crime before he remembered that she was a professional charmer.

And also, he was curious about what art theft actually entailed. Double whammy.

"I'm coming." He said and exited the speeder.

…

"Whatever you do, don't touch anything." Sierra whispered.

Jeremy nodded, in awe of the darkened museum hall and the paintings. "If we don't touch anything, then how are we going to get the paintings?"

"I borrowed Steela's alarm scrambler. All the guards will see is the system resetting. If we time it right, we can grab the painting and be on our way. We just need to pick out which one we want."

Paintings of every style covered the walls, with only one common theme: love and romance. Why the museum had decided to host that particular exhibit at this time of year, Jeremy didn't know.

He cased the walls, looking for something he liked. He'd never been a big connoisseur of art.

"This one."

Jeremy's selection was a relatively small work depicting a woman in a white dress sitting on a pier, graciously accepting flowers from a man Jeremy assumed was her suitor. He chose it because it was pretty, would fit in his speeder trunk, and – dare he think it? – the man and woman looked like him and Sierra.

Sierra leaned in to read the name card.

 _"Summer Evenings,"_ she read. "Excellent choice. Now let's turn this alarm off and take it home."

Jeremy grabbed the device and turned it on. "Tell me where to put the prongs."

"Nearest outlet," Sierra instructed, fingertips almost touching the painting but not quite. "Three, two, one…now!"

…

 _"Bonteri, they're leaving right now. And they're holding something."_ Saw reported.

A bad taste filled Lux's mouth. "Tell me she didn't-."

 _"She did,"_ Steela confirmed, her voice filled with thinly veiled pride. _"She went burgling for her first date. I think I'm gonna tear up."_

Lux rolled his eyes. "That doesn't absolve her of the fact that she conned her own team. That better be one very valuable painting she has there."

…

 _"Sierra Ann Bonteri!"_

"What were you thinking?"

Sierra winced at the volume of her mother's and brother's voices.

"If I said we were going on a job, would you have let us?" she asked.

"No." Lux and Mina said immediately and in unison. Mina was just as steamed about Sierra's deception as Lux.

"It wasn't her fault, Mrs. Bonteri." Jeremy broke in. "I suggested it because I was curious."

Away from the Bonteri family drama, Ahsoka made a mental check mark. _One point for Jeremy. Sort of. Can I award half points?_

"I understand, Jeremy." Mina said sweetly. "But I taught Sierra everything I know about rhetoric. She can be very, _very_ persuasive."

"But that still doesn't excuse you from lying about where you were going!" Lux snapped.

Ahsoka snorted under her breath. She could think of a few occasions where Lux had lied about his destination, one more notable than the others. And even though she had plans to partner with Steela and read Sierra the riot act about conning her own team (Ahsoka's calm and Steela's yelling were always a perfect pair when it came to taking people down a peg. She'd briefly wondered how to incorporate it into a con) she would set Lux straight about hypocrisy.

So she sent her husband a force suggestion.

 _Carlaac._

In the other room, Lux stiffened.

"Jeremy," he said quietly. "The only reason I'm letting you see Sierra again, _ever,_ is because I once made a mistake like that, and I believe in second chances. But only second chances, _understood?"_

"Right." Jeremy nodded like a bobblehead. "Right, sir. Of course!"

"Good," Lux seethed. "Now go, before I change my mind."

After a few squeaked goodbyes, Sierra opened the door to Ahsoka's room.

"Thank you," she said, visibly relieved. "I thought Lux was going to kill him for a second there."

"You owe me big," Ahsoka said, pointing at her sister-in-law. "It's a good thing I like Jeremy. Tell him to come over for dinner next time. I'd like to hear more about him, and the painting you two stole together."

 **A/N: Yeah, Sierra might not be the world's best girlfriend. But at least they had fun and nobody got hurt. And by "hurt," I mean "slowly dismembered by Lux and BonScary".**

 **Thank you to MusicKeeper, McAwesome, starwarshobbitfics, and Rose Ravenclaw for your reviews. And speaking of which, please review.**

 **Until next time,**

 **Lux's Sister**


	4. The Captain's Tale

**THE CAPTAIN'S TALE**

It started about twenty minutes after breakfast. At first Rex thought it was just some remaining sleepiness, but it only got worse as time dragged on.

His entire body ached. His eyelids felt as if someone had tied stones to them, and he would have sworn on his growth jar that he had a fever, except that the thermometer told a different story.

 _Bah,_ he thought, tossing the device into a drawer. He remembered his days in the GAR – no temperature, no sick leave. Heck, sometimes no sick leave even _with_ a temperature. He could tough it out. He had to tough it out.

"Rex, are you okay?"

He turned around. "Yes Ahsoka, I'm fine. Sorry for taking the refresher."

"You don't look fine," Ahsoka pointed out.

"I don't have a temperature." Rex defended himself. "I'll be out in a few minutes."

"Of course. Stay there," Ahsoka said and sauntered off. Rex recognized that voice. It was the voice she used with Lux when he misbehaved.

"I don't!" He yelled after her, but it was no use. Ahsoka was gone but for a second when she returned with the cavalry.

Mina Bonteri took one look at Rex and announced: "You're staying home."

"Senator Bonteri, it's not a problem. I can go on the job."

" _Go back to bed, Rex."_

Shrinking, Rex slunk off to his and Saw's room half-grateful for Mina's command. He may be annoyed at missing the job, but at least he had the chance now to recover properly for the next one.

He stripped off his clothes, put on the pajamas his friends had gotten him for Life Day, and lay back down in bed. _Oh,_ the softness of the mattress plus the warmth of the blankets was just right for his aching body.

His head had barely hit the pillow when his eyelids finally gave into their weight and closed.

…

 _The gunship's engine sputtered with dying breaths._

 _Even though the doors were shut to prevent the passengers from being blown off the ship or to bits, Rex caught a glimpse of Genonosis' quickly-approaching red sand._

Never thought I'd see this place again, _he thought wryly as the gunship slammed into the earth._

 _For a second, all his senses rolled into one: the sensation of heat and panic, and a woman's voice._

 _"Hey Rex? Rex?"_

…

"Hey Rex? Rex?"

Rex forced his eyes to open. Geonosis was gone. It its place was his soft bed, aching body, and the voice from his dream attached to the face of Steela Gerrera.

"Yes?" he sputtered, blinking sleep from his unwilling eyes. "Are you back from the job already?"

Steela shook her head. "No. Katooni's feeling under the weather too, so I volunteered to stay back and take care of you guys."

Rex sat up in bed. "Is Katooni alright?"

"It's her allergies; they're worse than usual." Steela looked at the chrono. "Ahsoka said to wake you up about now. Do you need anything?"

"No, thank you." He lay back down in bed. "Have you had anything to eat for lunch?"

"No, why? Do you want some?"

He hurriedly shook his head. "No, nothing like that. I was just curious."

That was a half-truth if he ever told one. The real one he was asking was because in the past, Steela's attempts to be a nurse had ended with her becoming a patient. Rex remembered hearing a _thump_ and then Sierra's shrill cry of _"Mom!"_

When Rex arrived in the girls' room he found Steela collapsed on the floor and helped Mina tuck her into bed. From there it was simply a matter of extracting information from Sierra while Tandin hovered over Steela until she got her bearings.

 _"Steela, can you hear me?" Tandin asked, gently patting her cheeks._

 _Steela startled and opened her eyes a sliver. "Y-yeah. Yeah, I hear you Tandin."_

 _Tandin placed the straw for one of Tav's juice boxes between her lips. "Drink this. When was the last time you ate?"_

 _Before Steela could spit out the straw to answer, Sierra supplied it. "Yesterday."_

 _Rex sighed. He knew Steela was busy taking care of Sierra, but this was extreme. "Steela, you need to eat and sleep."_

 _"I'm fine!" Steela argued._

 _"Oh, you're going to be fine," Tandin announced, tucking her in tight. "Because you're going to do nothing but rest and let us take care of you for the rest of the day."_

 _"But Tandin -!"_

 _"No buts, young lady. I'll bring you something to eat in a minute." Tandin said, and it was final._

"Actually," Rex corrected himself. "A sandwich might be nice, just to keep my blood sugar up."

For a second, silence.

"Okay, sure." Steela nodded and walked out of the room. "I'll be right back."

A half second after she left, Rex mentally kicked himself. _You d'kut! Did you really just ask Steela to make you a sandwich? How sexist could you possibly be? What's next, asking her to rub your feet? _He closed his eyes. _Fives would have punched me if he'd heard that._

He knew Steela wasn't a fan of sexism in the least and she'd set anything she saw as such straight, so hopefully he hadn't offended her. He crossed his fingers.

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Steela mulled over the same question as she spread peanut butter on the bread.

 _He must really be sick if he asked me to do this,_ she thought, cutting the sandwich into triangles. _Rex isn't the make-me-a-sandwich type._

She grabbed the plate, tossed a jogan on it for good measure, and brought it to Rex. "One PB&J and a jogan. Anything else?"

"No, but thank you." Rex tried to recover from his slip when he had a brilliant idea. He grabbed his knife from the bedside table and cut the jogan in half before holding out one sandwich triangle to her. "Would you like half?"

Steela took the triangle. "Thanks. Tandin would kill me if he heard I didn't eat lunch."

"Right," Rex silently breathed an enormous sigh of relief. Thank goodness he hadn't insulted his … girlfriend? Friend? What's the term for someone you took to Pancake World and then kissed? He had a feeling even his old friend Cupid couldn't answer that one.

Awkward silence fell.

"I wonder if the news is on." Steela mused, grabbing the remote and switching on the TV that Saw just _had_ to have in his and Rex's room. She flipped through the channels, trying to find something. Soap opera, talk show, talk show that was basically a soap opera, infomercial, Imperial propaganda…aha!

Rex raised his eyebrows in recognition. " _Little Moisture Farm in the Desert."_

"Yeah, it's a classic." Steela said. "Have you watched it?"

"Some of the shinies liked it after their first battles," he reminisced. "It helped them relax so they could sleep at night."

"Well then this is the best show for you." She flopped beside him on the bed, on top of the covers. "Mind if I watch?"

They directed their attentions to the screen, apparently a rerun of the Life Day special episode. The main characters' parents were trying desperately to keep their one sprig of mistletoe alive with what water they could scrounge up, just so their young daughter could have a special Life Day kiss under the mistletoe.

"Remind you of something?" Steela snorted.

Rex only sighed in reply.

The "something" Steela mentioned was nothing less than the famous Life Day Incident. She and Rex, in a hurry to get to the revelry in the common room, tried to squeeze through the door at the same time and didn't see what Mina had hung above it.

 _"Seriously?" Steela asked, looking up at the mistletoe hanging above her head._

 _"Pucker up, lovebirds." Hero cackled._

 _"I don't see you under this." Rex pointed out._

 _"Nope, Hero and I already went." Hutch smiled seductively at his wife._

 _"Just kiss!" Katooni cheered. "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"_

 _Tav joined in, sensing the fun and games. "Ki', ki', ki!"_

 _"I can't believe the baby is chanting." Rex sighed. "Well Steela, I only see one way out of this. Where do you want it?"_

 _Steela rolled her eyes. "Pick your poison."_

 _He blushed and kissed her gently on the cheek. The rest of the crew applauded, Lux even whistling as the two scurried away from the mistletoe._

 _Sierra stopped Steela before she could get to her seat. "Hey, your presents are under the tree."_

 _"Thanks, Si -."_

 _"The one from Rex is small. You know, about the size of a ring box."_

 _Steela was about to fire off a reply when Saw walked in and stopped in the doorframe, yawning._

 _"Happy Life Day, you guys."_

Oh, _Steela thought,_ It's high time Sierra Bonteri and Saw Gerrera got a taste of their own annoying medicine.

 _She spun Sierra in Saw's direction, placed both hands on her friend's back, and shoved. Saw caught Sierra before she flew into the wall._

 _"What the heck, Stee?" Saw demanded._

 _"Look above you." Ahsoka snickered._

 _Sierra gave Steela a very black look. "I seriously hate you right now."_

 _But not even this could dampen Saw's Life Day spirit. He kissed the top of Sierra's head, spun her around, and kissed her again._

To this day, it completely boggled Steela's mind that after the scene Saw made, they didn't have a "Saw and Sierra are going to get married" joke.

Next to her, she heard a barely perceptible snore. She turned her head.

Rex, still propped up for eating lunch and watching the show, had fallen asleep.

 _Probably good for him,_ Steela mused and leaned over to grab Rex's plate. She didn't want him to accidentally dump his sandwich on the floor.

She had just set the plate on the bedside table when Rex's arm wrapped tight around her, leaving her literally draped over him.

She tried to find somewhere to put her hands so that she wouldn't push on Rex and wake him, but she couldn't find a place. She tried to wriggle out without waking him, but every time she moved Rex stirred in his sleep and tightened his grip on her.

 _This is stupid,_ she thought. _I am a thief. I can get out of this._

But then again, Rex was so nice and warm and the bed was so soft, and his breathing coupled with _Little Moisture Farm in the Desert_ was strangely soothing.

It occurred to Steela that there were worse things in life than being Captain Rex's teddy bear. Might as well accept fate and enjoy the moment.

…

 _"Steela!"_

Steela startled awake, her head snapping up from where it had fallen on Rex's chest. The Captain's eyes opened very, very slowly.

"Steela?"

Steela shook her head, tight-lipped. "It was a mistake. Hang on for a second, Katooni needs me."

She ducked into the common room, where Katooni lay on the couch surrounded by dirty tissues.

"You need something, honey?"

"My nose won't stop running." Katooni bawled. "And I don't know how to run the caf machine. Can you make tea for me?"

"Let me show you how to run it." She showed Katooni how to pour the water and start the machine. "Wow, your nose really is running. Are your allergies this bad?"

Mostly, Katooni seemed a little drowsy. But never…like…this…

Suddenly, realization dawned. "Katooni, does your mom give you antihistamines for your allergies? And do the pills make you sleepy?"

"Yes!" Katooni cried miserably. "We couldn't find them this morning, so she let me stay home."

"What do these pills look like?"

"They're white, and they're in a little bottle."

Steela knew another white pill that came in a little bottle: Rex's multivitamins.

The entire mysterious illness cleared before her eyes.

"I think Rex might know where to find them, Kat."

…

Meanwhile, as the rest of the team drove back to the ship…

"That was a new low, even for you." Lux snapped at Saw. "Slipping Rex an allergy pill?"

"I didn't do it on purpose!" Saw protested. "I thought I was giving him his vitamin, but I swapped the bottles."

"My Katooni is dealing with her allergies because you lost the bottle, numbskull!" Hutch snapped.

"Hey, it's not a big deal." Saw said. "Steela will find them, she'll give them to Katooni, Rex will sleep off the pills, and everything will be okay. Good? Great."

…

Now, the question of the day: was Rex really asleep when he grabbed Steela?

To that, my friends, the answer is simple.

No.

 **A/N: I had every intention to update this on time, but unfortunately a storm temporarily knocked out my internet. No worries, it's back up now.  
**

 **Thank you to starwarshobbitfics, Rose Ravenclaw, McAwsome, and MusicKeeper for your reviews! And speaking of which, please review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Lux's Sister**


	5. The Couple's Tale

**THE COUPLE'S TALE**

 _"Steela, come in!"_

The sound of Tandin's voice snapped Steela from her mental focus. She looked away from the lock she'd been trying to pick, irritated. "Tandin, what have I said about talking to me while I'm picking locks?"

 _"Forget about the lock!"_ Hero cried shrilly into the comm. _"We've all been calling you, but you've been in the twilight zone!"_

Tandin continued, ignoring Hero's outburst. _"The con's fallen apart. Sierra's alias is in tatters, Hutch is locked out of the system, and Lux is out of plans. You've got to leg it – run for the nearest exit as fast as you can!"_

Steela jumped to her feet, lockpick clattering to the floor. "We're blown?"

 _"They're shutting down the floors. Get out of there!"_ Tandin ordered, and cut out of the comm.

The lock forgotten, Steela bolted into the hall. "Hutch, I need you to get me a turbolift."

 _"No can do, Stee."_ Hutch's voice shook with nervousness. _"I am completely locked out. And you can forget about hardline access; I've just stuffed my computer into a briefcase and I'm running down the stairs before they lock. What floor are you on?"_

"Uh, the eighteenth? The nineteenth?"

 _"They started sweeping at the tenth!"_

Her eyes narrowed. "Hutch, what do you mean 'sweeping'?"

 _"They have goons casing every floor and locking it down when they're done. They started at the tenth and divided the building in half. You're never going to get through there."_

Another strategy formulated in Steela's mind. "Got it. I'll meet you all outside!" she said, and raced for the staircase.

Hutch didn't know exactly what that meant, but he trusted her to find an exit. Heck, she could find exits better than anyone else on the team. So he ran through the side door to wait for the rest of his team.

Meanwhile, Steela found the staircase, threw the door open, and tore up the stairs, unshouldering her pack and starting to get her rig in order.

…

Unbeknownst to her, she wasn't alone in the staircase. One floor beneath her, a group of enforcers silently stepped into the hallway and immediately took notice of her sharp, rapid footfalls echoing in the chamber.

With steps silenced by booties, the enforcers slithered up the staircase and onto the roof. Their leader held up a hand in a "stop" gesture while he watched Steela strap herself into the harness.

"Why don't we go now before she jumps?" One on his right whispered.

"Because," the leader replied as Steela hooked her lines to the harness and to a sturdy metal pipe. "She'll jump without her rig, and I don't want to have to clean up bodies today. Wait until she jumps, and then go quickly."

As if on cue, Steela stood on the end of the building, took a breath, and jumped. The lead enforcer raced through the door over to her rig, grabbed the lines, and crossed them.

"And that's how you stop a thief with a rig." He said proudly.

…

Steela knew something had gone horribly wrong with her rig when she felt her path change from straight down to a slight spinning that got greater and greater. She looked up – and there it was. A great and terrible X of a crossed line loomed above her, growing closer and closer with every instant.

Of course, Steela couldn't see it very well. She was spinning out of control, the building looming dangerously close with each revolution.

And then she stopped. No slowdown, no slack, just an immediate stop.

The spinning line snapped her away from the building, leaving her to watch upside-down in horror as she swung toward the building. There was no escaping what was to come; if she released her line to guard her head she would flip upside-down, and then her whole _body_ would be painted on the building.

As she hurled headfirst into the wall, she could only think one thing: _Oh, this is not good._

…

Through the comm, Lux Bonteri heard a sharp _"Oof!"_ and then a comm cutting out.

 _"Steela?"_ Captain Rex asked. No answer. _"Steela!"_

 _"Guys, that didn't sound good."_ Sierra fretted.

 _"Rex and Sierra are right. I'm sensing a disturbance in the Force,"_ Ahsoka confirmed. _"Someone needs to go check on her. Where is she?"_

"The roof," Lux exited the staircase. "I'm closest to her, and I should be on the roof in a minute. I'm sure she's fine. This is Steela we're talking about here."

 _Right?_ He asked himself as he climbed out a window onto the fire escape and ran up, huffing and puffing once he reached the fifteenth level. He reached the roof with his lungs screaming and legs burning, but all his discomfort was forgotten when he saw the scene on the roof.

A cluster of people stood in the center of the roof, watching as a man laid a limp young woman on the floor.

Steela.

Lux's stomach flipped. She was completely unresponsive, didn't even grunt or whine when her captor roughly yanked her out of her rig. And the blood on her head couldn't be good.

"Gentlemen!" he called, steeling himself. "I see you've stopped my thief here. Clearly you're all worthy of my time, maybe a cut in this job?"

The man who had been holding Steela considered him. "So, you're the brains?"

"That would be me."

He had barely spoken it before the muzzle of a blaster jabbed into his spine.

"One false move," the enforcer growled, "And you and your friend are going off the roof."

…

"Where are they?" Ahsoka demanded back on the ship.

Hutch hunched over his computer. "I'm working on it, but whoever has them took out their comms. The last ping was from the building, but there's no way of telling which floor they're on."

"Are the earbuds still operational? Do you know what happened to Steela?" Rex asked, wringing his hands.

Hutch shook his head. "Lux told somebody he saw that she was 'taken out'. I can only assume that means she's hurt."

"Well then let's go kill them!" Saw roared. Rex and Ahsoka were slightly inclined to agree with him.

"We can't kill anyone until we know who and where they are," Hutch announced. "And even then we have to wait. We have to work out a plan to get them back without getting the rest of us killed. Guys? You need to calm down."

Ahsoka opened her mouth to snap something at Hutch, but she stopped when she saw Rex. Her friend was pouring sweat and shaking, clearly concerned about his girlfriend. Ahsoka didn't blame him. She was every bit as worried about Lux.

She scanned the room. Hero babysat Tav, Katooni, and her daughter Molly, but Ahsoka caught her biting her lip. Mina drummed her fingers on the table, one bit of bad news away from going into full-on BonScary mode.

And then there was Sierra. Calm. Cool. Collected. She sat without so much a nervous twitch.

 _Not normal behavior for someone whose brother and sister have been kidnapped._ Ahsoka noted.

"Okay, everyone. Back to your cabins until Hutch finds something." She ordered, sending a quick glance to Rex, then to Sierra.

Rex returned a quick, nearly imperceptible nod and led the way to Sierra and Steela's cabin. He waited for Ahsoka to catch up to them, then knocked on the door.

Sierra opened the door, stepped aside, and let the two of them in.

"So, when are you two going on your rogue rescue mission?"

 _Darn, she's pretty spot-on._ "As soon as you tell us whatever you clearly know."

Sierra snorted. "So, here's the thing: the building's locked down, and there's no way you're getting in as yourselves. You don't have an entrance.

"But grifters?" she opened her closet. "We don't need entrances. We _are_ entrances."

…

When consciousness finally returned to Steela, three thoughts pushed into her mind.

One: My head really hurts.

Two: Where the heck am I?

Three: Oh man, Ahsoka's going to kill me for crossing my lines.

"Wakey wakey."

"The wall really did a number on you, girly."

And then Lux's voice: "Leave her alone!"

Someone nudged her with the toe of their boot. "Isn't that cute? Your boyfriend's looking out for you." He kicked her harder. "Wake up. I didn't haul you onto the roof for this."

Steela forced her eyes open, wincing at the headache blooming in her temples. She made out the dark of some kind of cellar, and the fuzzy image of a tall, heavyset Zabrak man in front of her.

The Zabrak smiled down at her, revealing a set of sharp, pointed teeth. "You'd be pretty if it wasn't for that blood."

"I said _leave her alone!"_

Steela followed the voice to Lux, sitting against the opposite wall with no small amount of blasters trained on him.

"Lu -."

"Steela!" he interrupted. "Steela, stay there. You have a concussion."

"Steela," the Zabrak mused, bending over her. "That your name?"

If she could see straight, Steela would spit in his face. "Go fly a kite."

The Zabrak growled, hoisted her from the back of her shirt, and tossed her across the room. She would have tumbled to the floor once again if Lux hadn't reached out and steadied her so she could sit safely.

"Come here," he pulled off his suit jacket to cover her. "Hang on, we'll be out of this soon. So, ladies and gentlemen? Would any of you like to tell me why you turned down a thirty percent cut of the con?"

"Simple, boy." Another enforcer, this one a Weequay, approached. "Because that money is ours in the first place; we were thinking more of a hundred percent stake. You return all our money, as well as a little … compensation for our troubles." His gaze settled on Steela. "We'll start with Little Miss Head Case here."

"Does it look like she can talk?" Lux protested. "Why don't you and I have a chat and we'll let her rest a while."

The Weequay kicked Steela hard, ripping a grunt from her throat.

"I think not."

…

Ahsoka and Rex strode through the front door and up to the desk.

"Alarm personell." Ahsoka shouted. "We're here to shut the thing off!"

The woman at the front desk couldn't be more relieved. "Of course. Go straight down the hallway and be mindful. Some of our men have two of the intruders downstairs, but they shouldn't be a problem as long as you stay away."

"Thank you for the heads-up, ma'am." Rex said and headed for the staircase.

"How far downstairs do you think they're holding them?" Ahsoka asked.

"Probably as far as they could go. There's no way Steela could run up all these stairs if she was so badly injured." Rex starting taking the stairs two at a time. "We need to hurry. It's not that I don't trust them, it's just that -."

"I hear you loud and clear, Rexster." Ahsoka replied and resisted the urge to force-jump down several flights.

…

Lux and Steela's location became clear once Ahsoka and Rex came within earshot and heard the shouts.

"What were you after?"

"Your ugly face, sleemo!"

There was the sound of a hard blow, followed by a woman's gasp of breath.

Rex's speed doubled, as did Ahsoka's.

"For force's sake, you don't have anything better to do with your time than beat an injured woman?" Lux shouted.

"Oh, we've got plenty in store for you. Your friend is just closer to talking."

Ahsoka jumped down the stairs, igniting her saber blades as Rex charged across the landing and silently opened the door.

In the corner, Lux's eyes widened and the mask of rage he had been wearing dropped from his face.

And from her position held against the wall, Steela started laughing hysterically.

"What is it, missy?" The tall, ugly Zabrak holding her taunted. "Finally lost your wits?"

"No," Steela laughed, her words slurring together. "I forgo' to tell you something: my boyfriend's a clone captain. An' he's gonna kill you."

"Kill me?" He laughed. "You sure you aren't losing your head?"

" 'M not, but you're 'bout to." Steela slurred, looking over his shoulder.

The Zabrak turned around in just enough time to see a Togruta woman holding twin lightsabers plus the angriest clone he'd ever seen in his life burst into the room.

Steela wrenched out of his grip and tumbled to the floor. The instant she was out of the way, Rex raised his blaster pistols.

The Zabrak raised his hands. "Everything I said -!"

Before he could finish his sentence Rex tackled him to the ground, pinning him to the ground and locking him in a hold.

Rex pressed the pistol to his temple.

"Tell me," he growled. "You were the one who crossed her lines?"

The Zabrak's second of hesitation was all he needed. Fury filling his veins, he squeezed the trigger.

Ahsoka's sabers tore through the other enforcers, leaving them in pieces. Rex swiveled his aim around the room, sweeping for enemies as Steela groped for the Zabrak's blaster and Lux tackled the Weequay to the ground, putting him in a headlock to cut off the blood supply to his head.

Ahsoka took one last look around and deactivated her sabers. "Lux, are you all right?"

"Better than our friends here," Lux admitted, rubbing his neck. "I'm glad you got here when you did."

Rex was already on his knees next to Steela, who had pushed herself up into a sitting position. "Steela, are you okay? Can you walk?" he asked, taking the blaster from her hand.

"Hey, Rex." Her staggered on the end of his name, and Rex thought for a minute that she would pass out. "It ain't bad. Jus' an accident with the rig."

"It's not 'just' anything," Lux argued. "And no Rex, she can't walk. I'll help you carry her if you'd like."

Steela slung her arm over Rex's shoulders. "You always were the drama king, Lux."

"No," Rex corrected, easing an arm around her waist to support her. "You've always been stubborner than ten ARCs put together."

…

 _Steela wasn't exactly sure when she passed out, but she knew she did because the next thing she recalled was the common room, and Saw's and Tandin's shouted concern, and the warmth and security of Rex's grip._

 _The thought_ Tandin and Saw are never going to let me use a rig again.

 _And then there was Mina, holding her upright and systematically unbuttoning garments; stripping her bare and washing her while she examined her battered body._

 _"You need stitches in your forehead," she prescribed as Steela watched the rust-red of blood swirl down the drain. "Goodness knows why Tandin didn't put them in immediately. The big one just burst from the water – Steela, are you going to faint again? Stay with me."_

"Steela, wake up."

She startled awake, a knife of pain slicing into her head. Rex looked down at her, concerned.

"Oh…"

Steela grit her teeth. "What's up, Rex?"

"I need to wake you every once in a while," he sat on the edge of her bed, his hand on her shoulder. "You have a massive concussion; we're on our way to Senator Organa's for a head X-ray."

She groaned. Sure, she appreciated and respected Senator Organa, but their crew had been in his Med Bay way, way too much lately. And considering that he asked Sierra about her leg every time he saw her, Organa was never going to let Steela live this one down as long as she lived.

Rex snorted. "You sound thrilled."

"Was that a joke?"

"No," he straightened up, again the picture of a born-and-bred soldier.

Steela closed her eyes again. "So, can you drop the other shoe now?"

"Gladly. You're officially banned from using your rigs for the next month. Two if I have any say in it."

He watched, mouth twitching in a smile as her eyes snapped open again. "You're not serious."

"Completely. Is there anything I can do to make up for it? Tea? A kiss? Some – woah!"

Steela's hand shot up and wrapped around the front of his shirt, pulling him down until his face was only inches away from hers.

 _"Excellent,"_ she whispered devilishly, and closed the distance between their lips.

 **A/N: Wonder of wonders, I actually updated on time for this story!**

 **For now, this is the final chapter of Dating in the Dark Times. I have a larger, far more interesting project in the works right now that should be up soon. I think you all will be very, very pleased.**

 **Thank you to starwarshobbitfics, McAwsome, and Rose Ravenclaw for your reviews. And speaking of which, please review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Lux's Sister**


	6. The Ring's Tale

**CHAPTER SIX – THE RING'S TALE**

In the renovated shell of a Republic Walker on the planet Seelos, Wolffe and Gregor gave each other an odd look before directing their attention back to Rex.

"Rex," Gregor said, trying to lighten the mood. "It's great that you came to visit us, it really is. But instead of all this crazy talk, why don't we go slinging?"

Wolffe jumped on the opportunity. "Yeah, let's go slinging. It'll help take your mind off this."

But Captain Rex was in his own little world, one that did not involve slinging. He couldn't handle the distraction of slinging, especially with overexcited Gregor.

"This is too much," he fretted. "I heard her talking with her friends and she has a _time limit._ She says she's giving up if I don't propose in the next six months!"

Wolffe blinked. "What?"

Rex turned on his heels, slackjawed. "Have you been listening to me?"

"Eh, mostly." Gregor admitted. "Who's 'she'?"

Rex's eyes boggled. "'She' is Steela Gerrera, _my girlfriend!"_

"Rex, you're coming to us because you're having girlfriend problems?" Gregor said incredulously.

"Well who else am I going to bring them up with?"

Gregor was about to suggest any surviving members of Rex's legion or Steela herself, but Wolffe elbowed him into silence. He had briefly dated a few dancing girls, so he had the leg up on the situation. "Rex, how long have you been with this woman?"

Rex floundered for a minute. "Eighteen years."

 _"What?"_ Gregor and Wolffe cried in unison.

"You've been with this woman for _eighteen years_ and you're shocked that she wants to get married?" Gregor asked.

"Rare is the woman who doesn't want to get married after eighteen years of being surrounded by married people." Wolffe had an idea. "How old is she?"

"Thirty-eight," Rex answered. "But no, it isn't about children. She can't have children; it would be too risky given her health."

"You could adopt," Gregor suggested. "But really, if you've been together as long as you have and you already live on the same ship, not much will change. You just have to ask."

"I'm just stressed," Rex sat down. "I never learned how to do any of this. I have to break up with her or I have to marry her and I don't know how to do either. I should have seen this coming; she agreed to get married after the Empire fell, and it just has!"

"Then why are you proposing?"

"Because when I did before, I was on drugs!"

Gregor picked up on the clue. "Wait. Rex, are you saying that you've never dated anyone before Steela? And you've been together for eighteen years?"

Rex nodded and Gregor sat back in his chair, shocked.

"That's incredible," Wolffe said in awe. "Really, it's incredible."

Rex puffed up a bit with pride.

"Do you love her?" Gregor prompted.

"Of course! I love her and I want to stay with her, but -." Rex sighed. "I can't put this in words."

But luckily for him, Gregor had seen his share of love-challenged customers at Borkus' diner, and this was the one skill he was happy to remember from his time on Abafar. "You can see yourself being married to her, but you're worried about the actual marriage ceremony."

"Exactly!"

"It's not that hard. You just ask."

"Rex?" Wolffe asked, realizing something. "Before the Empire, didn't your brother-in-law panic about marrying Ahsoka just like you're panicking right now?"

"If you think I'm panicking, you should have seen him." Rex snorted.

"Look," Wolffe continued. "This is supposed to be a happy decision, not a stressful one. Maybe you should wait."

"No, I can't sit on this." Rex shook his head. "I'm going to get some air," he said and climbed the ladder to reach the deck of the walker.

Gregor and Wolffe stared at each other.

"We need to call Ahsoka," Wolffe said, and grabbed the holoprojector.

…

Meanwhile, on the con men's ship…

Ahsoka gave herself one last look in the mirror, then smiled with satisfaction. She may not have been particularly inclined toward fashion, but she knew when she looked good. At last, she was ready for the women's annual Boonta Eve tradition.

She had just stopped to put on her shoes when her holoprojector buzzed and she reached to answer it. "Hello?"

 _"Ahsoka, we have a major problem."_

Ahsoka raised her eyes from her shoes and settled them on the holoprojector. "Wolffe? Gregor? What's wrong?" she asked, her breath freezing in her lungs. Normally the men from Seelos didn't call unless it was an emergency, and considering they had Rex…

 _"It's Rex,"_ Wolffe explained. _"He's nervous about proposing to his girlfriend."_

Ahsoka froze. "Really?" Rex got the idea to get married the same time Steela wanted to? How romantic!

 _"He says she told the rest of you she was giving up if he didn't in the next six months."_

Ahsoka's romantic notions popped like a soap bubble. "Okay. Is he sick?"

 _"No, he's not like your husband was. He's just nervous and unsure of himself."_

Ahsoka sat on her bed and sighed. "I worried this would happen. When they started dating she didn't want to get married until after the Empire fell, and now that it has – well, I guess she got tired of waiting. I never really know when it comes to Steela."

 _"What are you dressed up for?"_ Gregor asked, switching the topic.

Ahsoka looked down at her outfit. "It's Boonta Eve, so the women in our crew go clubbing, the men go pubbing, and Mina goes to the spa." She had offered to bring Mina along with the other ladies, but her mother-in-law couldn't turn the offer down fast enough. When one has seven children and three grandchildren then one needs solitude, a deep-tissue massage, and some eye cucumbers once a year.

 _"You're going out? Great! There's a bar on the other side of Seelos we would go to sometimes, but not so much anymore."_

An idea formed in Ahsoka's mind. "Wolffe, Gregor, can you get to Nar Shaada?"

 _"Nar Shaada? It shouldn't be a problem. Why?"_

"I have a plan," Ahsoka said. "I'll have to get the rest of the family on board, but I have a plan. Just get Rex to Nar Shaada and I'll give you more directions." She snapped off the holoprojector without saying goodbye, stuck her head into the hallway and motioned for Katooni, Hero, and Sierra to come into her room.

"Forget clubbing ladies, we have preparations to make."

"Preparations? For what?" Sierra asked, disappointed about losing out on the yearly tradition.

Ahsoka's voice dropped to a whisper. "Because if we pull this off, Stee-Rex is _so_ getting married."

Katooni squealed. "Really?"

"Yes. Hero, get Steela out of the ship. Sierra, I need you to make a call. Katooni, once Steela's gone you're helping me. We're going to make this happen."

…

"I'm confused. Why aren't you coming with Hero and me? it's Boonta Eve!" Steela cried.

Sierra cleared her throat. "Yeah, I think I got food poisoning or something because I don't feel too good. I'm staying home."

"You were fine a half hour ago."

"It just hit now. Go have fun; we can go clubbing later."

Steela wasn't buying it. "But why are Ahsoka and Katooni also staying?"

"I'm not in the mood for it and neither is Ahsoka," Katooni explained. "We're gonna have a _The Young and the Rascals_ marathon."

 _The Young and the Rascals_ was Steela's least favorite show, and Katooni knew it.

"Come on," Hero tugged on her friend's arm. "I already booked an appointment with the salon to get our nails done.

Steela eyed the women suspiciously. "All right, I guess," she relented and walked down the boarding ramp with Hero. "Wait, are we crashing Mina's spa day?"

Hero snorted. "No worries! We're going to a different salon, one she says is more popular with the younger crowd."

Sierra shut the boarding ramp behind the two of them.

"Let's get this wedding started."

…

"I don't see why we had to come here," Rex said sourly, glowering at the bright lights of the Nar Shaada cantina.

"Because it'll be fun," Gregor baited. "Come on brother, it's just like the old days in 79's!"

"Why did we have to leave the planet to go out drinking?"

Good point. Gregor floundered for a minute before coming up with "Because this place is the only place that mixes juma just like 79's."

"Let's get some," Wolffe suggested and steered Rex over to the bar, plunking him down in a stool. "Hey barkeep! Three jumas, straight up!"

The bartender slid the men's glasses across the bar and Wolffe raised his.

"A toast to Rex!" he cheered, tapped his glass with his friends' and took a sip of juma.

Rex cleared his throat and plunked his glass back onto the table when someone plopped down in the seat next to him.

"I'll have a dirty martini," a red Togruta woman with circular markings on her cheeks said and swiveled around in her chair. "Happy Boonta Eve! I'm Gini, and it's nice to meet you."

"Rex," Rex admitted awkwardly. "Ma'am, if you're looking for companionship I'm sorry, but -."

"Oh, no. Nothing like that," Gini grabbed her martini from the bartender and stirred it with her finger. "I just like talking with people. So, are you here for Boonta Eve too?"

"My brothers and I are, yes." He tried to signal Wolffe and Gregor, but the two others were absorbed with a dancing Twi'lek. "But the rest of my family and my girlfriend are also out celebrating somewhere else."

…..

"Okay, we've gathered all the white fabric in the house," Katooni said, admiring the heap of cloth on her bed.

"And I've got all the tissue paper to make tissue-paper flowers," Kiara announced and twisted a piece of red tissue onto a green-wrapped wire.

"I've put together the best wedding playlist from pirated music, including the highest-quality rendition of 'Here Comes the Bride'." Molly bragged. "It's going to sound like there's an orchestra in the speakers."

"Who should we invite? Should we invite Mon Mothma?" Sierra asked.

Ahsoka blinked. "Of course! She's one of our closest friends. And make sure to invite the girls from Phi Kappa Lambda too."

"I'm not sure about this," Katooni hemmed. "Compiling their guest list?"

"We can't let them get away with doing a quickie wedding," Ahsoka announced. "And we have bigger problems than a guest list. I hope we still have the sewing machine."

…

Something was afoot. How else could Wolffe and Gregor mysteriously disappear when his back was turned for _one second,_ leaving him alone with Gini?

He'd considered ditching, but he didn't want to leave a woman alone in a bar on Nar Shaada. He just had to wait for the others to appear and then tell her he had to go, nice meeting you, but it's time to go.

"I have something to admit." Gini took a sip of her martini. "I'm not here by accident."

His hackles went up.

"I sometimes work for your friends Ahsoka and Sierra."

Rex blinked. He'd expected all sorts of things on Nar Shaada, but not this! "You're a shill?"

She nodded. "Yes. Your crew pays well enough and the grifters are nice; I think it's cute that they're brother and sister. So when Ahsoka called me and said she'd give me fifty credits to talk to you at the bar, how could I say no?"

Rex was speechless. Suddenly he knew what the conversation was: the technique grifters used to get marks to fall in love with them. "Have you been soul-gazing me?"

"Yes, and that's what I want to talk to you about." Gini took one of his hands in hers. "I have been tailoring this conversation to make myself the center of attention, and the whole time you were completely devoted to her." She smiled. "She must be some woman."

Rex didn't need to ask who "she" was. "She is."

"You love her. I can tell just by looking at you," she nodded to him. "Get back to your brothers and then go to her. You know what to do."

For the first time since he'd overheard Steela and Ahsoka's conversation, Rex did.

"Thank you, Gini," he said. "Let me escort you outside; no woman should be left alone in a place like this."

"What a gentleman. But don't worry about it," Gini scoffed, sliding off her stool. "This is where I do my best business. I'm probably safer in here than anyone else."

…

"It's done!"

Ahsoka, Katooni, and Sierra draped the white dress over the common room table, beaming with pride. It was simple in design: allover lace with a straight neckline and three-quarter sleeves.

It was also sewn with remarkably terrible workmanship. The hem was at a terrible slant, and the lace looked like it had been tacked on by a five-year-old. Kiara doubted it would fit on Steela in her wildest dreams.

"It's pretty," Molly lied.

"Thank you," Ahsoka beamed. "Thank God for the HoloNet sewing tutorials, or else we'd never get it done."

"Okay, so we have the dress. I have those tissue paper flowers done," Kiara gestured to the pile beside her. "Molly has the playlist, and we called everybody. Are we done?" Her cousin opened her mouth to answer, but Kiara wasn't finished. "No, we're not, because Uncle Rex hasn't even proposed!"

"Give him time," Ahsoka admonished. "It's not easy proposing to someone. I've told you about your father's jitters."

Kiara snorted. "Oh, yeah. I wish I was there."

"You really don't," Sierra corrected her. "It wasn't pretty, and there was nothing we could do about it."

Just then, the boarding ramp opened and the girls froze.

"Hide it!" Katooni hissed, sweeping the tissue paper flowers off the table and stuffing them into a box while Ahsoka scrambled around looking for a place to stash the dress, mentally cursing Hero for not warning them that Steela was coming home.

The kitchen door opened, and the girls froze.

Mina stood in the doorway.

"Oh, hi Mom." Sierra said, her blood pressure dropping with every instant.

Mina looked at the chaos, and mentally tried to return to the happy place she had been in at the spa. Yes, there was _definitely_ a reason she needed a day of pampering every year.

"I don't want to know," she announced and walked back to her room to take a nap.

….

The rest of his crew was going to be on Seelos within the hour to pick him up.

Rex nervously glanced at the piece of copper wire he had twisted into a ring. Maybe it would be better to just pitch it; it was a horrible ring! Steela would never say yes to such shoddy workmanship.

"For the love of the force Rex, it looks fine," Wolffe growled and Rex realized he'd spoken his thoughts aloud. "You spent three hours curling the ends into a nice little circle for her. She'll love it."

Rex fidgeted with the ring held in both hands. "She's a thief. She sees and holds the galaxy's most valuable jewels in her hands, and I'm about to give her a ring made of copper wire."

Wolffe put a hand on his shoulder. "Then I think she'd get tired of all those splendid jewels."

Rex was floored. This was probably the kindest thing Wolffe had done for him, ever.

But there was no time for thank yous, because immediately after Wolffe spoke there was the sound of a ship landing.

Gregor popped his head in. "Here she comes!"

Rex swallowed hard and stuffed the ring into his pocket. "Thank you Gregor. Please try not to do anything that might scare her off."

Gregor just laughed and said something about going slinging before popping the hatch open for the others.

Ahsoka waved to him from the ground. "Hey, Rex!"

"Hello, everyone," Rex said, swallowing the giant lump in his throat when he saw Steela coming off the boarding ramp. "How was your Boonta Eve?"

"Uncle Saw let me have sip of his beer at the pub," Tav boasted.

"Steela and I got our nails done," Hero said, gently pushing Steela to the front of the group. "It was nice."

"It sounds like it would be. Ah, Steela?"

Steela perked up. "Yes?"

Flushing from nervousness and embarrassment, Rex pulled the wire ring from his pocket. "I swear I'll get you a better ring, but –."

 _"Yes!"_

And that was it. No dramatic speech, no sweeping drop to a knee, just a nervous offer of a ring and suddenly Steela was hugging him, beaming and letting him slip the ring onto her finger.

"I can get you a better ring," he said dumbly. "I have credits. I can get you a better ring."

Steela grabbed his head in her hands, the cool of her new ring a shock against his cheek.

"I don't want another ring," she said. "I don't even like diamonds."

The nervousness evaporated from Rex. Because he had done it. He'd bridged the deadly gap between being Steela's long-term boyfriend and having the marriage he'd never dreamed he'd have.

"Okay," he nodded. "Okay. We can keep this one."

She kissed him, hard and fast and just like she did the first time after they had gone to Pancake World all those years ago.

"Let's just do it," she said when they separated, oblivious to the rest of her family's cheers. "We don't need a big wedding; let's just get it done and get on with our lives."

Tandin cleared his throat. "Steela, if you think you're going to get out of me walking you down the aisle you are gravely mistaken. There's no way I'm letting you get a quickie wedding – even if you are a grown woman."

"Don't worry, Tandin." Ahsoka dismissed. "We got everything ready for these two lovebirds. Now get in the ship, everybody. Wolffe and Gregor, I hope you have suits. Tav, call ahead to Talia and tell her the good news. We're going to have a wedding!"

 **And here it is, the first of the oneshots you all requested regarding Rex and Steela's agreement to get married after the fall of the Empire. For reference, these oneshots take place shortly after "Return of the Jedi."**

 **Thank you to everyone who requested this continuation of "Dating In the Dark Times," and speaking of which please review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **LS**


	7. The Betrothed's Tale

**THE BETROTHED'S TALE**

Between Rex and Steela, he was probably the most surprised at their engagement. Every few minutes, he would think _what's that on Steela's hand?_

Then he would remember _oh yeah Rex, that's the ring you made for her, because you and Steela are going to get married._

Honestly, he could hardly be blamed. He'd wanted this for a very long time, which had led to a string of semi-proposals until Steela said she wanted to wait until after the Empire fell. After that, the proposals had stopped while they casually talked about their "someday" wedding, until the day on Seelos where he stepped out of a tank, help up a ring, and apologized for it.

And when all your dreams come true like that, it's hard to believe.

"We could go to one of the wedding chapels," Steela suggested. "It doesn't have to be a big wedding."

"No," Sierra corrected. "It has to be a huge wedding."

"And why does it have to be a huge wedding?" Rex asked.

"To fit all the people who want to come see you get married," Ahsoka answered and started ticking them off on her fingers. "Mon Mothma, Wolffe, Gregor, Talia and Steela's old troops, anyone left from the 501st, the crew of the _Ghost,_ Phi Kappa Lambda…"

Steela's jaw dropped. "All those people want to come to our wedding? How are we going to pay for this? All our credits went to the Alliance!"

"You're not paying for anything," Tandin said, in a tone announcing this was not up for negotiation. "I'm paying for it. I don't care that you two are adults, the bride's family pays for the wedding and I fully intend on doing so."

"I'm helping." Saw announced. "I don't know much about wedding planning, but I have a wallet. I'm part of the bride's family, and I'm going to help pay."

"We're all chipping in," Lux crossed his arms. "We're all your family, and between all of us we have the money to pay for your wedding."

"We can't -."

Tandin took her hand. "Please, Steela. We want to pay for it."

"Don't worry, Rexster," Ahsoka laughed, playfully slugging him in the shoulder. "I'm going to pick up the tab on your end and don't you even think of arguing with me. I _am_ your sister."

Rex relaxed immensely. He knew how expensive weddings could be.

Hutch flipped open his computer and started trolling through his programs. "We need to order you two a cake, rent a wedding hall, get Steela in a wedding dress -."

Ahsoka started to say something, but Katooni shook her head. She'd seen the wedding dress her family had made, and it definitely needed to be altered if Steela didn't want to end up HoloNet famous for "The Galaxy's Worst Wedding Dress."

Her father continued rattling off a list of things the happy couple would need. "The officiant, you can't forget the officiant. And then we've got to get a marriage license for you two, and whatever you do make sure you order the flowers from the florist Hero and I used and not Lux and Ahsoka's..." his face changed. "Hey, why don't you two go to get your rings?"

Steela blinked. "Now? We're getting our rings _now?"_

Hero knew that look. "Yeah! The chain jewelry store is having the sale of a lifetime," she covered, remembering something she'd seen on the HoloNet. "I think you two will be able to find the most beautiful rings there."

Mina was picking up on the situation. "At the very least, you need gold rings. Copper will tarnish and turn your fingers green."

Rex wasn't an idiot. He knew that something was up, and he knew that Steela knew. But in the name of preserving this special day, he nodded.

"I'd hate to turn your hands green before the wedding." Another thought struck him. "We could have a stone mounted in it while we're there."

"I agree we need to get actual wedding rings, and this one needs to be plated," Steela relented and put on her coat. "Hero, which chain jewelry store is having the sale?"

Hero rattled off the name of the jewelry store and the two of them left behind a ship full of smiles, wedding excitement, and good wishes.

But once Rex and Steela were on their way shopping for wedding rings, the mood popped when Hutch turned around in his chair and gulped.

"We have a problem."

"What kind of problem?" Ahsoka asked, raising an eye marking.

"A problem regarding our criminal records," Hutch answered. "I just looked into everything, and it looks like we're not entirely in the clear."

"But Senator Mothma and Leia both told me they were going to be expunged," Ahsoka argued. "That was a condition for us giving our profits to the Alliance. Once the Empire fell, they were going to clear our criminal records. So they should be perfectly fine."

"Yeah, they're supposed to be. Remind me again, _who was responsible for hounding Leia to expunge them?"_ Hutch asked, glaring at Sierra.

Sierra shrank into the couch a little. "I…I was gonna do it soon."

"How soon?"

"Next week."

Lux facepalmed. "Hutch, how bad is it?"

"All our crimes are still on file in the Core. The records are a parsec long and we're wanted on way too many planets."

"It's okay; we can work with this," Sierra reassured. "What planets aren't we wanted on?"

Hutch gave her a withering look. "That would be Tatooine, Jakku, Nar Shaada and for reasons I cannot explain, Alderaan is still on the list."

Silence fell.

Onderon wasn't on the list.

"There might be a nice venue on Nar Shaada," Katooni said weakly.

"No," Mina rapped out. "Absolutely not. Rex and Steela deserve better than to be married on that dump of a planet. Sierra, why didn't you have the records expunged?"

"I kinda forgot about it because it wasn't a big priority for me personally," Sierra admitted. "I'm just planning on adding to my criminal record later."

Mina glared at her adult daughter like Sierra was thirty-five _months_ old, as opposed to thirty-five _years_.

"Well they can still get married there!" Sierra protested. "I'll talk to Leia about it. We knew her since she was a kid; maybe she'll loosen up if I invite her."

Sierra could try. Sure, the con men had known Leia since she was a baby and played with her on occasion when they stopped in, but at the moment Leia had more important things to do than expunge their criminal records. Such as, reorganizing the entire galaxy.

Ahsoka knew it. "That's not going to happen. She has higher priorities. So, it looks like Sierra here is going to have to break the news to Steela that she can't get married on her own home planet, which was extremely important to her."

Everyone gave Sierra a death glare.

"Nice knowing you, Aunt Sierra," Molly quipped.

Kiara's jaw dropped. "Wait, _wait._ Mom, I know you and Dad are planning to go straight since the Empire's gone, but tell me you didn't just forget that you're still thieves until the records are expunged."

Lux raised an eye marking. "How is that supposed to help Rex and Steela, Kiara?"

"Simple," Kiara said, rolling her eyes. _"We steal the wedding venue."_

…

"So we're gonna steal this wedding hall?" Molly asked timidly.

"Yup," Tav answered.

"And we're gonna do it on a planet where we – not just our parents, but the three of us also – have criminal records as long as our arms."

"Yup."

"And we can't let Uncle Rex and Aunt Steela know we're stealing the place."

"Pretty much."

"But no pressure, right?"

Tav clapped his cousin on the back. "Exactly, Molls. You just do your computer magic and play your playlist, and everything will be fine."

"You're aware that if we get caught Leia won't take these crimes off our records."

"She's not going to catch us!" Tav scoffed. "We've done bigger jobs than this in the past and gotten away scot-free. It'll be fine. No pressure." With that, he walked away to get in position for his part of the job.

Molly gulped and stared up at the giant spires of the Unifar Temple. In her years in the galaxy she'd stolen many things, but stealing a _church?_

"We're all going to hell for this," she lamented and walked into the doors.

She, Kiara, and Tav waited for one of the holy men to finish with his prayers, then they raced to his side.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Kiara breathed. "We were looking all over for you; just wanted to make sure you had all the readings for today."

"Today?" the holy man repeated.

"Yes, for my aunt and uncle's wedding. We HoloMailed you about it."

Lie number one: _Kiara_ hadn't HoloMailed the holy man anything. Hutch took care of that.

But sometimes all it takes is a suggestion to play a mark straight into your hands. The holy man nodded, albeit a little slowly. "Oh…I remember. When is the ceremony again?"

Kiara gave him a blinding smile. "Two o'clock."

…

"The kids have the officant secured for the ceremony," Hero reported out of the side of her mouth after receiving a text from Molly.

Steela looked up from across the room. "What?"

"Just Molly texting me about the food," Hero lied. "How about we get you into your dress?"

"Hero, the wedding isn't for four hours and I still have stuff to do," Steela checked the seating arrangement chart for the sixtieth time. "Some of Rex's brothers are still AWOL and haven't RSVP'ed, I'm not sure if the pancakes will be ready on time -."

Hero grabbed her shoulders and steered her away. "Okay, time for a pedicure."

"I got my nails done two weeks ago." That was the day Rex proposed. Hero had taken Steela to the salon so the others could make preparations.

"And we're going to re-do them for today. You need to take a few deep breaths and relax; this is supposed to be the happiest day of your life. Enjoy it."

"Did you feel like this when you married Hutch?" Steela asked, sitting on a couch.

"A combination of excited and scared witless? That's how I felt." She didn't need an answer to know that her friend had a good old-fashioned case of bride jitters. "It helps to talk about it. What's on your mind?"

"Mina gave me the speech about being a wife, and I'm freaked out." It was a good thing there wasn't any polish on Steela's nails because she reached to rake them through her hair, a nervous tic of hers. "I shouldn't be scared. Rex and I have been dating for eighteen years, we've lasted longer than a lot of marriages, what's going to change?"

Hero shrugged, remembering the few hours before her own wedding. "There will be a lot of things that change, but most of them will be good. You're going to have a home together and make caf in the mornings and find gray hairs and wrinkle up like prunes. Marriage is work, but it's rewarding. I have to ask you this" she asked, very seriously. "Do you still want to go through with the wedding?"

The answer was instantaneous. "Of course!"

As a married woman, Hero knew instantaneous answers were the only good ones.

"Then I'll call in the others to get you ready. I wouldn't be surprised if Rex sheds a few tears when he sees you."

…

"How many more strings of these things are there?" Saw yelled from the top of his ladder.

Sierra rifled through the box of silk flower garlands. "Nine! You're in single digits now."

"Thank the force," Saw grumbled and finished hanging another flower garland. "My hands are cramping like you wouldn't believe."

"We'd better hurry. Tandin's being a diva about everything," Sierra had elected not to tell Tandin about her discussion with Leia Organa yesterday, which basically boiled down to three lines.

 _"Leia, I really need you to expunge my crew's criminal records right now. Steela and Rex are getting married."_

 _"I have more important things to do. Such as replacing monarchs."_

 _"Kriff the monarchs."_

Leia hadn't been too inclined to listen to her after that, even when Sierra had threatened to send her force-sensitive friends to change her mind. Leia had just _laughed_ and said mind tricks didn't work on her.

If Tandin had heard about that, he would have gone bonkers. None of the con artists had ever seen someone so invested in a wedding … even Mina. He was, they said when he couldn't hear, a "father of the bride-zilla."

"Eight more!" Sierra announced, handing another flower garland to Saw at the thought of Tandin. When he came around (and she knew he would) she wanted them to be _ahead_ of schedule.

…

Ahsoka pinned Rex's boutonniere to his jacket.

"You look great," she reassured and straightened his bowtie. "Every single woman in the galaxy is going to be jealous when they see you."

He fidgeted with his cuffs. "I guess."

Ahsoka crossed his arms, "Okay, you look like Lux when he's having 'The Twelve Days of Life Day'. What's up?"

"I'm old!" Rex blurted out. "I don't even know how old I am, but I know it's older than thirty-eight. Ahsoka, do you think it's fair to marry her when I know she's going to outlive me?"

Ahsoka took a long, deep breath. She knew this was coming, but she didn't think it was going to strike on Rex's wedding day.

"Mina can answer this better than I can, but this is what she told me after John died, what I know about Lux, and what I'm sure Steela knows about you. A little time spent together is better than no time at all. Mina said that if she could do her life over again knowing that John would die young, she would marry him again in a heartbeat."

She took Rex's hands in hers.

"You've been a soldier and you've been a thief all your life. This is one thing that nobody's going to make choices for you on. Your life with her is all yours, and believe me when I say she loves you."

Rex smiled. "You'd have to love me to drink my terrible excuse for caf every morning."

"Don't I know it," Ahsoka smirked. "Maybe you should let her make it a few times while you cook breakfast."

"Or we could just stick to Pancake World," Rex released her hands, emboldened at the memory of his and Steela's first date. "We'll have plenty of opportunity, considering we're about to spend the rest of our lives together."

"When you adopt your first daughter, name her Ahsoka Junior!" Ahsoka teased as she left him alone to wait for the ceremony.

Rex took a seat in one of the chairs and put his head in his hands, heart racing against his chest.

It was his wedding day. On Kamino, and throughout all the Clone Wars he had never dreamed he was going to have a wedding. Not even after a certain mission to Onderon when a gorgeous rebel appeared on a Daglo, and Rex felt something like a poke in his chest.

(He brought it up with Kix when he returned, wondering about cardiac problems. Kix listened to his story, whacked Rex with a holozine and told him to take it up with Cupid. He didn't. No one with half a brain took things up with Cupid. Bad enough Fives had overheard it already.)

Fives wasn't here to celebrate with him today, nor Hardcase or Denal or so many of his brothers. He was so, so thankful for the ones who managed to survive the Clone War, Order 66, and the devastation that was the Empire, and were still willing and able to come to his wedding.

And for the fact that there was a wedding in the first place.

He sat up, and another thought struck him as if planted there by his lost brothers.

For the first time in his life, Rex was going to have a last name.

Rex Gerrera.

Yeah. He liked the sound of that.

 **So, the wedding is coming along. Rex is going to have a last name, Steela is going to have a husband, Tandin will have his time being a diva, and Sierra just might dig herself out of the giant hole she's in. And with a pairing as colorful as Stee-Rex, the wedding ceremony can't be anything but a little outrageous.**

 **Thank you to MusicKeeper, Starwarshobbitfics, and McAwsome for your reviews. And speaking of which, please review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **LS**


	8. Coda: One Hand, One Heart

**CODA: ONE HAND, ONE HEART**

"I, Rex, take thee, Steela"

"I, Steela, take thee, Rex."

"To be my wife."

"Make of us one hand, one heart, and one soul."

"I am yours,"

"And you are mine."

"For this day,"

"For all of my days,"

"Until death do us part."

"With this ring, I thee wed."

The holy man looked on serenely at the couple who didn't need to be prompted for their vows. They had said them so many times in their heads over so many years, they knew them by heart. The man in a suit he clearly wasn't used to, smiling through his whiskers. The woman with flowers in her hair, eyes wrinkled in joy. Their faces shone with adoration for each other, the wedding vows only adding new sparks to the glowing embers of an old, time-tested love.

He had only seen a few couples like this, and he hoped he would see more.

But the reverence was broken by the sounds of loud, ugly sobbing from the middle of the church. All eyes went to the aged clone, a former member of the 501st named Cupid, bawling into a handkerchief.

"I'm sorry!" Cupid wailed. "But it's so beautiful!"

Rex rolled his eyes.

The holy man re-composed himself. "By the power vested in me by Unifar and the planet of Onderon, I now pronounce you husband and wife."

The people in the audience burst into cheers and applause, except for Cupid. Cupid kept sobbing in his seat.

Ezra and Sabine stood up on the pew and shouted "KISS THE BRIDE!" Hera grabbed their legs and yanked them down into their seats. The clones and Talia's partisans whooped. Tav, Kiara, and Molly cheered.

"Saw, are you crying?" Lux asked from his place with the groomsmen.

"No, I'm not!" Saw bareface lied as tears streamed down his cheeks like waterfalls.

Rex and Steela weren't listening to any of them. They laced their fingers together and leaned in to kiss.

The cheering intensified and they separated.

"Are we actually married?" Steela asked, almost unable to believe they really were.

Rex was on the same page. "I guess we are."

…

The crew of the _Ghost_ waited in the reception hall for the newlyweds to arrive.

"Did you see the decorations in the hall?" Sabine gushed. "Those flower garlands hanging from the trim were beautiful, even if they were all white." She frowned. "There was a lot of white."

"What about Steela's wedding dress?" Kanan asked. "Sabine, would you describe it?"

Sabine lit up again. "It was a white satin ball gown," she said, "And it had off-the shoulder sleeves. She wore her hair in a bun on top of her head, and there were white flowers in the bun. Her veil was attached to the back of her head."

Kanan paused. "I can picture it perfectly, Sabine. Thank you."

"I wonder when they're getting here," Hera wondered aloud. "Zeb and Ezra are getting antsy, and if we don't feed them soon there's going to be a problem."

"We aren't getting antsy!" Ezra protested, squirming in his seat.

 _"Ladies and gentlemen,"_ Molly called from the DJ stand, _"Please stand for the arrival of the bridal party!"_

Their banter forgotten, the entire hall got to their feet. They applauded at the entrance of the bridesmaids and groomsmen: Lux, Sierra, Katooni, Hutch, and Hero. The matron of honor (Ahsoka) and the best man (Saw) came next, followed by Mina and Tandin. Tav escorted Kiara into the hall, and Molly teased the speakers at the DJ stand to build the music into an excitement-inducing crescendo.

 _"And now,"_ she announced into the mic. _"The moment you've all been waiting for, everyone give it up for the bride and groom, Mr. and Mrs. Rex and Steela Gerrera!"_

Rex and Steela walked in arm and arm, and the hall went wild. The happy couple took a lap around the hall so everyone could see them before taking a seat at the head table.

"Look at everyone who showed up," Rex marveled, for the first time being able to see the guests all at once. "I didn't think they were all going to make it."

"Of course they made it," Ahsoka said. "They made time to come. Who wouldn't want to see you two get married?"

"Besides Tarkin, of course," Sierra said, returning from the open bar with a glass of red wine for her and one for her mother. "And he's dead, dead, _dead."_

Steela lifted her water glass to Rex's. "To annoying the living hell out of Tarkin's and Palpatine's ghosts by getting married?"

"To getting married," Rex clinked his glass with hers and took a sip. "We'd better start making the rounds at the guest tables before the food comes out or Molly starts the dance music. We have a lot of people to greet."

"Do we ever," Steela agreed. "Let's start with Talia; she's pretty close to our table anyway."

…

The guests blurred together in Rex's mind. Talia, some partisans, some rebels, members of his old legion – at one point he completely zoned out and let Steela do the talking. She seemed to know most of the people better than he did, anyway.

"Thank you so much for coming," he and Steela said and moved on to the next table, Table 10. Rex was starting to wonder how many more were left; he really wanted to be done with the rounds so they could eat their dinner and dance in peace.

On their way, Steela squeezed his hand. "These look like some of your friends."

Rex perked up a little. His friends? He had already met all of his brothers, who could be left except…

"Lawquane!"

Cut Lawquane got out of his seat, arms outstretched. "Rex, congratulations!"

They hugged and Rex pulled back. "Steela, this is Cut Lawquane, the first clone to get married, and his wife Suu, among the best with a Bluurg rifle I've ever seen."

"You men must be attracted to women with weapons." Steela shook Suu's and Cut's hands. "It's good to meet you both."

"We met Rex at our home on Saleucami and offered for him to stay with us, but of course he had to go back off to war," Cut smirked. "Though I bet if you had walked onto the farm, Rex's answer would have been very different."

"It was one of the best decisions I ever made, Cut. If I hadn't gone back into the army I never would have met her."

Suu rolled her eyes at the men. "You look gorgeous, Mrs. Gerrera. My husband says you're good with a rifle?"

"I was a sniper," Steela admitted. "And then I was an intergalactic thief. You know your way around weapons as well?"

"We should meet up sometime and go to the target range," Suu suggested. "We'll give our husbands a run for their money!"

"Sounds like a definite plan."

Meanwhile Cut and Rex continued their conversation, sneaking glances over to the women.

"You finally understand how I felt when I met Suu, huh?" Cut snickered. He was enjoying this way, way too much. Last time he'd seen Rex the man positively stiffened at the thought of marriage or a family of his own. "What'd you think when you saw her the first time?"

"I thought I was having a cardiac event."

"I almost choked on my drink."

Cut gently elbowed him. "You know, we have a lot to talk about. You and your wife should stop by on Saleucami sometime. Jek and Shaeeah would love to see you."

"We'll have to make an appointment," Steela broke back in. "Thank you both for coming."

"Congratulations, you -."

There was a crash on the other side of the venue followed by a shout of _"Chopper!"_ and Lux's vaulting over a table to run to the scene.

Rex froze and turned to look. "What's going -?"

Suu grabbed them both and ushered them on their way. "Don't mind that. Go enjoy your wedding. You both deserve it!"

…

Dinner had been served and the plates cleared away. In the kitchen the staff was no doubt working on cutting the cake.

Steela didn't miss the sly look on her bridesmaids' faces.

"What is it?" she asked. "What did you do that I don't know about?"

Without further ado, Saw stood up on his chair and cued Molly, who ducked down at the DJ stand and started up a happy dancing tune.

Steela and Rex understood. "Please tell me we're doing the modern version," he groaned as Wolffe and Gregor closed in on the head table.

"Sorry, vod," Gregor snickered, pulling out Steela's chair. "But we're stealing your bride!"

Rex was about to reply with something witty, but it was too late. The women from his crew swarmed around him and lifted him from his chair, dragging him down to the dance floor and the waiting women.

"What's this all about?" Ezra asked Kiara, who was walking past the _Ghost_ crew's table to get to Rex.

"It's a toned-down version of an old custom," she explained. "In the old days the guests would dance the bride and groom right out the door and into their honeymoon suite and make jokes about starting a family. We don't do the honeymoon suite thing anymore because it's weird, but the dancing part is fun."

"Oh," Ezra said as he watched Ahsoka spin Rex in a circle before slinging him off to the next woman in line, Sierra.

Sabine locked step with her. "Can I dance with Rex?"

"Everyone should!" Kiara agreed and the two rushed over to the dance floor.

Ezra was about to sit down when he felt a hand on his back.

"It would be rude not to go," Kanan chided. "Come along, Ezra."

"Yes, and it would be a _shame_ not to go," a new voice said, and its owner slung an arm around Ezra and Kanan. "She's such a beautiful bride, and I will not turn down my last opportunity to dance with my favorite spice!"

Kanan bit back a groan. "Don't bother Steela, Hondo."

Hondo clutched his chest with his free hand, affronted. "Bother her? Master Jedi, I am her _friend!_ I would never _bother_ the lovely bride."

"Yeah, right." Ezra rolled his eyes as the three men joined the lineup.

…

"Well," Rex said as he and Steela swayed to the much slower, more romantic music. "That was exhausting."

"I don't even know how many of your brothers I danced with," Steela admitted.

"A lot of them," he agreed. "I couldn't count all the women either, and I still can't believe Hondo showed up."

"You weren't the one who had to dance with him," she leaned closer. "You took a few of the ladies for quite the spin."

"It was more like they spun me," he admitted. "Sabine Wren has a lot of energy."

"I think you were with her the same time I was with Hondo."

Rex spun her around. "Forget all that. We had fun and now we're dancing together."

"And soon we can have the wedding cake."

"Do you remember what Hero wrote on it? 'Stee-Rex Reigns Supreme'?"

"I think so," They turned again, and Rex looked around at the room and the smiling faces of the guests, his family watching with pride, and the glowing face of his beautiful bride.

Hands-down, this was the happiest day of his life.

There was just one more thing that had to be said.

"You realize they stole the temple for us, right?"

"I've been a thief too long not to."

"And you've probably guessed that Sierra didn't really get our criminal records expunged."

"I'm positive she didn't get them expunged. Sierra never does _anything_ on time."

"And you know we're dancing to the theme song of a dinosaur holo?"

"I know," she confirmed and rose on her toes to peck his lips. "And I don't care at all. You're finally my husband and I'm finally your wife, and that's all that matters."

 **Katooni always said the two of them would have a dinosaur-themed wedding. Even if it is just the first dance music. And after such a long and eventful relationship, a peaceful ceremony is the least they deserve.**

 **Thank you to Starwarshobbitfics and McAwsome for your reviews. And speaking of which, please review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **LS**


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